Engineers, All Other in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$103,245
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$31,325
23.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$95,102
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
$134,570
Kept after tax
$103,245
Worth in national money
$95,102
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Washington pays engineers, all other a middle wage of $134,570, ranking 6 of 51 states and sitting about 9.47% above the national middle.
- Within Washington this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, engineers, all other ranks 39 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $134,570 the take-home is $103,245. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $95,102 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $138,660, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington's median for engineers, all other is $134,570, about 9.47% above the national figure and 6 of 51 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 Washington publishes a median for, engineers, all other sits 39 of 493 — 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 Washington income tax is $103,245 for engineers, all other, from $134,570. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $95,102. ⚠️ 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 $138,660 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Engineers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $81,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $134,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $196,120 |
| This salary | $134,570 |
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 | $103,245 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $103,245 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,144 |
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 | $134,570 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,756 |
| 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 engineers, all other in Washington earn under $134,570 and half over. The published range runs $81,280 at the tenth percentile to $196,120 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Washington's $103,245, worked from $134,570. 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 39 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $95,102 uses one figure for the whole of Washington. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 39.
- Figures are distribution medians for engineers, all other in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $81,280 to $196,120; 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.
- The Washington take-home of $103,245, on $134,570 for work ranking 39 of 493 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 39 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $95,102, worked from $134,570, 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 Washington address, on work sitting at 39 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $138,660, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $81,280 and the top tenth $196,120 — 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 Washington run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $95,102 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $103,245 of this wage reaches your account, because Washington takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Washington is $138,660. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($81,280) and the ninetieth ($196,120) 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?
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 $95,102 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 $103,245 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.