Dishwashers in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,226
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$4,704
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,927
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$28,930
Kept after tax
$24,226
Worth in national money
$26,927
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for dishwashers. The middle earner takes $28,930, ranking 44 of 51 states — about 16.89% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Alabama, this one sits low: 450 of 482 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $28,930 you keep $24,226, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $26,927 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $28,800, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Alabama ranks 44 of 51 for dishwashers, with a median of $28,930 — about 16.89% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Dishwashers occupies position 450 of 482 in Alabama's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for dishwashers on $28,930 is $24,226. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $26,927 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $28,800 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dishwashers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $35,840 |
| This salary | $28,930 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $24,226 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,425 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$762 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $27,463 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$922 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $28,930. The published range is $21,810 up to $35,840, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $24,226, worked from $28,930. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 450 of 482.
- Two cautions on $26,927, the adjusted value of that $28,930 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Alabama. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 450 of 482 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for dishwashers in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $21,810 to $35,840. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Alabama take-home of $24,226, on $28,930 for work ranking 450 of 482 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 450 of 482 in the state.
- This $26,927 adjusted figure, worked from $28,930, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 450 of 482 in the state. The occupation ranks 450 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $21,810 at the bottom tenth to $35,840 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $26,927.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $24,226 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($21,810 to $35,840) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $26,927 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $24,226 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.