Environmental Engineers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,991
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$20,979
22.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,193
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
$93,970
Kept after tax
$72,991
Worth in national money
$72,193
State rank
40
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona is among the lower-paying states for environmental engineers. The middle earner takes $93,970, ranking 40 of 50 states — about 12.27% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Arizona this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, environmental engineers ranks 83 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $93,970 the take-home is $72,991, which is worth about $72,193 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $96,410, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arizona ranks 40 of 50 for environmental engineers, with a median of $93,970 — about 12.27% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Ranked against every occupation Arizona publishes a median for, environmental engineers sits 83 of 491 — 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.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for environmental engineers on its $93,970 median: $72,991 retained after tax becomes $72,193 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $96,410 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Environmental Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $93,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $130,190 |
| This salary | $93,970 |
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 | $72,991 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $74,938 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,923 |
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 | $91,203 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,800 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $93,970 as a midpoint for Arizona, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $63,790 and the ninetieth is $130,190 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $72,991, from $93,970, 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 83 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 $72,193 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 83.
- The Arizona median of $93,970 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $63,790 to $130,190. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $72,991 from $93,970. 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 83 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $72,193, worked from $93,970, 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 83 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $63,790 at the tenth percentile, $130,190 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $72,193 of national purchasing power.
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 $72,991 of this wage survives to your account.
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 50 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 ($63,790 to $130,190) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
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 $72,193 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 $72,991 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.