Food Batchmakers in Louisiana

Machined metal parts and a CNC machine in a clean manufacturing workshop.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$29,345

after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax

Tax takes

$5,275

15.2% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$33,216

Louisiana costs less than average

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

$34,620

Kept after tax

$29,345

Worth in national money

$33,216

State rank

50

of 50 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for food batchmakers. The middle earner takes $34,620, ranking 50 of 50 states — about 18.14% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
  • Measured against other jobs in Louisiana, this one sits low: 410 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
  • Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,620 you keep $29,345, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,216 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $34,570, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
  • Louisiana ranks 50 of 50 for food batchmakers, with a median of $34,620 — about 18.14% 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.
  • Food batchmakers occupies position 410 of 484 in Louisiana's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
  • After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for food batchmakers on $34,620 is $29,345. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,216 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 $34,570 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.

Compare this career across states

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Pay band: Food Batchmakers

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$27,630
Half earn under$34,620
Top tenth earn over$43,530
This salary$34,620

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

Compare with
+$652take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Louisiana$29,345
Take-home in Texas$29,997
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity−$2,347

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

Moving to
$0$37,458
$37,458in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$33,808
Raise you would need+$2,838
Prices in Texas97 vs 88

State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.

Sources and assumptions
  • A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of food batchmakers in Louisiana earn under $34,620 and half over. The published range runs $27,630 at the tenth percentile to $43,530 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
  • In Louisiana the take-home figure of $29,345, from $34,620, 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 410 of 484 occupations here.
  • One number stands for prices across all of Louisiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,216, the adjusted value of that $34,620 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 410 of 484 in the state.
  • Figures are distribution medians for food batchmakers in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $27,630 to $43,530; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
  • Take-home for Louisiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,345 from $34,620. 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 410 of 484 locally.
  • Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Louisiana, so $33,216 — the adjusted value of that $34,620 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 410 of 484 locally.

Questions people ask

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $27,630 and the top tenth $43,530, so most people doing this work in Louisiana sit within a fairly tight band.

What does this pay actually buy where I live?

More than the figure suggests. Prices in Louisiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $33,216 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.

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 Louisiana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $29,345 of this wage survives to your account.

Why is this job missing from some states?

A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.

What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?

The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($27,630 to $43,530) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.

What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?

Louisiana'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 $33,216 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 $29,345 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.