Food Processing Workers, All Other in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,344
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$7,276
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,225
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$41,620
Kept after tax
$34,344
Worth in national money
$35,225
State rank
17
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 17 of 46 states for food processing workers, all other, with a middle wage of $41,620. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Pennsylvania this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, food processing workers, all other ranks 406. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $41,620, take-home of $34,344 is worth roughly $35,225 in national money. The average comes to $44,010, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 17 of 46 for food processing workers, all other at $41,620. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Pennsylvania reports, food processing workers, all other ranks 406 of 492, 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 Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for food processing workers, all other, whose median is $41,620, the adjusted figure of $35,225 differs little from $34,344 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $44,010 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Food Processing Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,010 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,650 |
| This salary | $41,620 |
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
| Take-home in Pennsylvania | $34,344 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,622 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,433 |
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 | $40,030 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,733 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 processing workers, all other in Pennsylvania earn under $41,620 and half over. The published range runs $34,010 at the tenth percentile to $62,650 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $34,344 take-home in Pennsylvania comes from $41,620. 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 406 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,225 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. 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 406.
- Figures are distribution medians for food processing workers, all other in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,010 to $62,650; 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.
- Retained pay of $34,344, from $41,620, assumes a single Pennsylvania 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 406 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 17 of 46 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,225, worked from $41,620, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 406 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $44,010, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,010 and the top tenth $62,650, so most people doing this work in Pennsylvania sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $35,225 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 Pennsylvania adds its own income tax on top — which is why $34,344 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Pennsylvania is $44,010. 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 ($34,010 to $62,650) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $35,225 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 $34,344 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.