Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,158
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$16,492
22.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,642
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
$74,650
Kept after tax
$58,158
Worth in national money
$64,642
State rank
29
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Alabama is 29 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $74,650. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Alabama. It ranks 114 out of 482 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $74,650 you keep $58,158, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $64,642 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $76,480, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alabama ranks 29 of 49 for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other at $74,650. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Alabama, engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other ranks 114 of 482 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other on $74,650 is $58,158. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $64,642 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 $76,480 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,650 |
| Top tenth earn over | $119,970 |
| This salary | $74,650 |
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 | $58,158 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,346 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,512 |
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 | $70,119 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,089 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $74,650 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $43,710 and the ninetieth is $119,970 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $58,158 take-home in Alabama comes from $74,650. 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 114 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $64,642 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 114.
- The Alabama median of $74,650 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $43,710 to $119,970. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $58,158, from $74,650, assumes a single Alabama 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 114 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $64,642, worked from $74,650, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 114 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $43,710, the highest tenth $119,970, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $64,642.
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 Alabama's own levy, $58,158 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($43,710) and the ninetieth ($119,970) 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.
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 $64,642 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 $58,158 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.
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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.