Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,539
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$10,861
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,732
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$57,400
Kept after tax
$46,539
Worth in national money
$47,732
State rank
32
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 32 of 48 states for earth drillers, except oil and gas, with a middle wage of $57,400. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Earth drillers, except oil and gas ranks 263 among 492 occupations Pennsylvania publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $57,400, take-home of $46,539 is worth roughly $47,732 in national money. The average comes to $60,520, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 32 of 48 for earth drillers, except oil and gas at $57,400. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 263 of 492 in Pennsylvania 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.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for earth drillers, except oil and gas, whose median is $57,400, the adjusted figure of $47,732 differs little from $46,539 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $60,520 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $46,180 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,680 |
| This salary | $57,400 |
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 Pennsylvania | $46,539 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,301 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,973 |
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 | $55,207 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,386 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of earth drillers, except oil and gas in Pennsylvania earn under $57,400 and half over. The published range runs $46,180 at the tenth percentile to $75,680 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $46,539 take-home in Pennsylvania comes from $57,400. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 263 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $47,732, the adjusted value of that $57,400 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 263 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for earth drillers, except oil and gas in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $46,180 to $75,680; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $46,539, from $57,400, assumes a single Pennsylvania filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 263 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 48 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $47,732 — the adjusted value of that $57,400 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 263 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 $60,520 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $46,180 at the tenth percentile, $75,680 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $47,732 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $46,539.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Pennsylvania is $60,520. 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 ($46,180 to $75,680) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $47,732 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 $46,539 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.