Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,172
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$15,378
20.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,503
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$76,550
Kept after tax
$61,172
Worth in national money
$60,503
State rank
31
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $76,550, ranking 31 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Arizona reports figures for, this is number 133.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $76,550 the take-home is $61,172, which is worth about $60,503 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $87,850, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arizona occupies the middle band for entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling: a median of $76,550, ranking 31 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Arizona's occupational distribution, entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling sits at 133 of 491 — 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.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling on its $76,550 median: $61,172 retained after tax becomes $60,503 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $87,850 sits above the median, the right skew typical of 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: Entertainment and Recreation Managers, Except Gambling
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $149,850 |
| This salary | $76,550 |
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 Arizona | $61,172 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,683 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,002 |
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 | $74,402 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,528 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arizona earn less than $76,550. The published range is $42,300 up to $149,850, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $61,172, from $76,550, 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 133 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $60,503 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 133.
- Reported values are medians; for entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $42,300 to $149,850. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $61,172 from $76,550. 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 133 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $60,503, worked from $76,550, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 133 of 491 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 $87,850, 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?
The label is broader than the work. From $42,300 at the bottom tenth to $149,850 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Arizona costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $60,503 rather than its face figure.
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 Arizona adds its own income tax on top — which is why $61,172 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 Arizona is $87,850. 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 ($42,300) and the ninetieth ($149,850) 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?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $60,503 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 $61,172 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.