Engineering Technologists and Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,571
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$17,779
22.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,534
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$79,350
Kept after tax
$61,571
Worth in national money
$70,534
State rank
21
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Mississippi is 21 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $79,350. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Mississippi this is well-paid work. Of 486 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 80 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Mississippi does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $79,350 you keep $61,571, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $70,534 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $78,850, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Mississippi ranks 21 of 49 for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other at $79,350. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Mississippi publishes a median for, engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other sits 80 of 486 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Mississippi income tax, retained pay for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other on $79,350 is $61,571. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $70,534 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 $78,850 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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 | $51,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,350 |
| Top tenth earn over | $108,490 |
| This salary | $79,350 |
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 Mississippi | $61,571 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,653 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,002 |
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 | $74,969 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,528 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
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 engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other in Mississippi earn under $79,350 and half over. The published range runs $51,520 at the tenth percentile to $108,490 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $61,571 take-home in Mississippi comes from $79,350. 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 80 of 486.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $70,534 uses one figure for the whole of Mississippi. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 486 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 80.
- Figures are distribution medians for engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters, all other in Mississippi, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,520 to $108,490; 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 $61,571, from $79,350, assumes a single Mississippi 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 80 of 486 locally, and the state ranks 21 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $70,534, worked from $79,350, 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 Mississippi address, on work sitting at 80 of 486 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $51,520 at the tenth percentile, $108,490 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Mississippi is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $70,534 in national terms.
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 Mississippi's own levy, $61,571 remains.
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 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($51,520 to $108,490) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi'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 $70,534 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 $61,571 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.