First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,812
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$17,028
22.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,128
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
$76,840
Kept after tax
$59,812
Worth in national money
$53,128
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. California pays this job around $76,840 at the midpoint, 18 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations California reports figures for, this is number 217.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $76,840 the take-home is $59,812. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $53,128 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $82,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For first-line supervisors of production and operating workers the California median is $76,840, ranking 18 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In California's occupational distribution, first-line supervisors of production and operating workers sits at 217 of 492 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $59,812 for first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, from $76,840. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $53,128. ⚠️ 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 $82,000 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $125,440 |
| This salary | $76,840 |
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 | $59,812 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,887 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,587 |
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 | $72,469 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,300 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $76,840 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $47,530 and the ninetieth is $125,440 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $59,812 take-home in California comes from $76,840. 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 217 of 492.
- Two cautions on $53,128, the adjusted value of that $76,840 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of California. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 217 of 492 locally.
- The California median of $76,840 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $47,530 to $125,440. 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 $59,812, from $76,840, 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 217 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 18 of 51 for it.
- This $53,128 adjusted figure, worked from $76,840, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 217 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 217 of 492 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 $82,000, 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 $47,530 at the bottom tenth to $125,440 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 $53,128 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 $59,812 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $82,000. 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 ($47,530) and the ninetieth ($125,440) 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 $53,128 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 $59,812 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.