File Clerks in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,818
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$8,092
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,889
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$43,910
Kept after tax
$35,818
Worth in national money
$36,889
State rank
21
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Maine is 21 of 49 states for file clerks, with a middle wage of $43,910. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Maine this is lower-paid work. Of 484 occupations the state publishes figures for, file clerks ranks 411. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Maine costs about what the country costs, so from $43,910, take-home of $35,818 is worth roughly $36,889 in national money. The average comes to $44,020, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maine ranks 21 of 49 for file clerks at $43,910. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Maine reports, file clerks ranks 411 of 484, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Maine is near the national base, so for file clerks, whose median is $43,910, the adjusted figure of $36,889 differs little from $35,818 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $44,020 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: File Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,860 |
| This salary | $43,910 |
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 Maine | $35,818 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,462 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,662 |
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 | $41,864 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,010 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $43,910 as a midpoint for Maine, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,430 and the ninetieth is $51,860 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maine's $35,818, worked from $43,910. 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 411 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,889 uses one figure for the whole of Maine. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 411.
- The Maine median of $43,910 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,430 to $51,860. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Maine take-home of $35,818, on $43,910 for work ranking 411 of 484 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 411 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,889, worked from $43,910, 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 Maine address, on work sitting at 411 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,430 at the tenth percentile, $51,860 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Maine is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $36,889 in national terms.
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 Maine adds its own income tax on top — which is why $35,818 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,430 to $51,860) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $36,889 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 $35,818 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.