Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$87,110
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$34,410
28.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,375
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
$121,520
Kept after tax
$87,110
Worth in national money
$77,375
State rank
6
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays this job a middle wage of $121,520, ranking 6 of 48 states and sitting about 17.96% above the national middle.
- Within California this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 88 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $121,520 the take-home is $87,110. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $77,375 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $122,410, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California's median for electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay is $121,520, about 17.96% above the national figure and 6 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.
- Ranked against every occupation California publishes a median for, electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay sits 88 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $87,110 for electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay, from $121,520. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $77,375. ⚠️ 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 $122,410 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $76,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $121,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $165,540 |
| This salary | $121,520 |
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 | $87,110 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $94,319 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$19,686 |
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 | $111,272 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$27,192 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $121,520 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $76,440 and the ninetieth is $165,540 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In California the take-home figure of $87,110, from $121,520, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 88 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $77,375 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 88.
- The California median of $121,520 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $76,440 to $165,540. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $87,110 from $121,520. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 88 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $77,375, worked from $121,520, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular California address, on work sitting at 88 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $76,440 and the top tenth $165,540 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $77,375 — 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, $87,110 remains.
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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($76,440) and the ninetieth ($165,540) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $77,375 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 $87,110 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.