Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,455
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$15,035
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,292
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$80,490
Kept after tax
$65,455
Worth in national money
$60,292
State rank
1
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Washington pays earth drillers, except oil and gas a middle wage of $80,490, ranking 1 of 48 states and sitting about 33.73% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Washington reports figures for, this is number 189.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $80,490, tax leaves $65,455 — and because Washington is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $60,292 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $81,380, since top earners drag the number up.
- Washington's median for earth drillers, except oil and gas is $80,490, about 33.73% above the national figure and 1 of 48 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Washington's occupational distribution, earth drillers, except oil and gas sits at 189 of 493 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After tax, $65,455 remains from the Washington median of $80,490 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $60,292 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $81,380 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Earth Drillers, Except Oil and Gas
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $106,370 |
| This salary | $80,490 |
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 Washington | $65,455 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,455 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,065 |
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 | $80,490 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,759 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 Washington earn under $80,490 and half over. The published range runs $51,020 at the tenth percentile to $106,370 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $65,455 take-home in Washington comes from $80,490. 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 189 of 493.
- Two cautions on $60,292, the adjusted value of that $80,490 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Washington. 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 189 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for earth drillers, except oil and gas in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,020 to $106,370; 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 $65,455, from $80,490, assumes a single Washington 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 189 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 1 of 48 for it.
- This $60,292 adjusted figure, worked from $80,490, 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 189 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 189 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $51,020 at the bottom tenth to $106,370 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Washington costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $60,292 rather than its face figure.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $65,455 survives, because Washington levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($51,020 to $106,370) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $60,292 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $65,455 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.