Financial Risk Specialists in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$91,597
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$37,513
29.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$81,361
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$129,110
Kept after tax
$91,597
Worth in national money
$81,361
State rank
8
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for financial risk specialists is strong here. California's middle earner gets $129,110, putting the state 8 of 50 — about 10.04% ahead of the national figure.
- Within California this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, financial risk specialists ranks 63 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $129,110 the take-home is $91,597. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $81,361 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $137,030, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For financial risk specialists, California sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $129,110, ranking 8 of 50 and running about 10.04% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation California publishes a median for, financial risk specialists sits 63 of 492 — 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 California income tax is $91,597 for financial risk specialists, from $129,110. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $81,361. ⚠️ 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 $137,030 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: Financial Risk Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $76,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $129,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $208,360 |
| This salary | $129,110 |
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 California | $91,597 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,513 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$21,044 |
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 | $117,651 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$29,276 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $129,110 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $76,610 and the ninetieth is $208,360 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $91,597 take-home in California comes from $129,110. 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 63 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $81,361 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 63.
- The California median of $129,110 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $76,610 to $208,360. 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 $91,597, from $129,110, assumes a single California 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 63 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $81,361, worked from $129,110, 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 California address, on work sitting at 63 of 492 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 $137,030 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $76,610 at the bottom tenth to $208,360 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $81,361 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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $91,597 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 50 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 California is $137,030. 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 ($76,610) and the ninetieth ($208,360) 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?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $81,361 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 $91,597 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.