Healthcare Social Workers in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$55,694
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$15,916
22.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,359
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
$71,610
Kept after tax
$55,694
Worth in national money
$57,359
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine sits in the middle of the pack for healthcare social workers. The median is $71,610, ranking 18 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 484 occupations Maine reports figures for, this is number 160.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $71,610, tax leaves $55,694, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $57,359 in comparable terms. Here the average runs under the middle, at $70,860.
- Maine occupies the middle band for healthcare social workers: a median of $71,610, ranking 18 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Maine's occupational distribution, healthcare social workers sits at 160 of 484 — 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.
- Because Maine sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for healthcare social workers — median $71,610 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $55,694 retained, $57,359 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $70,860 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Healthcare Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $55,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $71,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $85,640 |
| This salary | $71,610 |
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 | $55,694 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $59,208 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,570 |
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 | $66,615 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,931 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $71,610 as a midpoint for Maine, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $55,770 and the ninetieth is $85,640 — 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 $55,694, worked from $71,610. 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 160 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maine, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $57,359, the adjusted value of that $71,610 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 160 of 484 in the state.
- The Maine median of $71,610 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $55,770 to $85,640. 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 $55,694, on $71,610 for work ranking 160 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 160 of 484 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maine, so $57,359 — the adjusted value of that $71,610 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 160 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $55,770 and the top tenth $85,640, so most people doing this work in Maine sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $57,359 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Maine then takes its own share, leaving $55,694.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($55,770 to $85,640) 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 $57,359 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 $55,694 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.
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.