File Clerks in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,489
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$8,421
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,005
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$45,910
Kept after tax
$37,489
Worth in national money
$41,005
State rank
11
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is one of the better-paying states for file clerks. The middle earner takes $45,910, which ranks 11 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 5.3% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. File clerks ranks 332 among 476 occupations Idaho publishes pay for.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,910 you keep $37,489, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $41,005 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $43,920, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Idaho ranks 11 of 49 states publishing a median for file clerks, at $45,910 — about 5.3% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 332 of 476 in Idaho places file clerks in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for file clerks on $45,910 is $37,489. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $41,005 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 $43,920 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: File Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,460 |
| This salary | $45,910 |
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 Idaho | $37,489 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,069 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$800 |
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 | $43,944 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$968 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,910 as a midpoint for Idaho, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $29,600 and the ninetieth is $50,460 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $37,489 take-home in Idaho comes from $45,910. 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 332 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,005 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 332.
- The Idaho median of $45,910 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $29,600 to $50,460. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $37,489, from $45,910, assumes a single Idaho 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 332 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 11 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,005, worked from $45,910, 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 Idaho address, on work sitting at 332 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $43,920 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $29,600 at the bottom tenth to $50,460 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $41,005.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $37,489.
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 Idaho is $43,920. 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 ($29,600 to $50,460) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $41,005 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 $37,489 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.