Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,371
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$17,409
23.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,810
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$75,780
Kept after tax
$58,371
Worth in national money
$58,810
State rank
26
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Delaware is 26 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $75,780. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 445 occupations Delaware reports figures for, this is number 148.
- No great distortion either way. Delaware costs about what the country costs, so from $75,780, take-home of $58,371 is worth roughly $58,810 in national money. The average lands at $70,660, below the middle of the range.
- Delaware ranks 26 of 49 for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other at $75,780. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Delaware's occupational distribution, engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other sits at 148 of 445 — 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.
- Price parity in Delaware is near the national base, so for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other, whose median is $75,780, the adjusted figure of $58,810 differs little from $58,371 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $70,660 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,160 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $75,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $87,650 |
| This salary | $75,780 |
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 Delaware | $58,371 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,141 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,138 |
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 | $70,420 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,097 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $75,780 as a midpoint for Delaware, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $48,160 and the ninetieth is $87,650 — 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 Delaware's $58,371, worked from $75,780. 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 148 of 445.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $58,810 uses one figure for the whole of Delaware. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 445 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 148.
- The Delaware median of $75,780 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $48,160 to $87,650. 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 Delaware take-home of $58,371, on $75,780 for work ranking 148 of 445 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 148 of 445 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $58,810, worked from $75,780, 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 Delaware address, on work sitting at 148 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $70,660, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $48,160 at the tenth percentile, $87,650 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Delaware is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $58,810 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Delaware adds its own income tax on top — which is why $58,371 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
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 Delaware is $70,660. 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 ($48,160 to $87,650) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware'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 $58,810 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 $58,371 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.