Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,621
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$13,289
19.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,629
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$66,910
Kept after tax
$53,621
Worth in national money
$47,629
State rank
7
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for earth drillers, except oil and gas. The middle earner takes $66,910, which ranks 7 of 48 states with published figures. That is about 11.16% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Earth drillers, except oil and gas ranks 255 among 492 occupations California publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $66,910 the take-home is $53,621. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $47,629 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $69,450, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California ranks 7 of 48 states publishing a median for earth drillers, except oil and gas, at $66,910 — about 11.16% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 255 of 492 in California places earth drillers, except oil and gas in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $53,621 for earth drillers, except oil and gas, from $66,910. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $47,629. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $69,450 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,950 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $66,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $91,640 |
| This salary | $66,910 |
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 California | $53,621 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $55,901 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,898 |
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 | $64,021 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$12,021 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $66,910 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $47,950 and the ninetieth is $91,640 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind California's $53,621, worked from $66,910. 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 255 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $47,629, the adjusted value of that $66,910 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 255 of 492 in the state.
- The California median of $66,910 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $47,950 to $91,640. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The California take-home of $53,621, on $66,910 for work ranking 255 of 492 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 255 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $47,629 — the adjusted value of that $66,910 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 255 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $69,450 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $47,950 and the top tenth $91,640, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $47,629 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and California's own levy, $53,621 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in California is $69,450. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,950 to $91,640) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $47,629 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $53,621 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.