Helpers--Electricians in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,709
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$9,371
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,936
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
$52,080
Kept after tax
$42,709
Worth in national money
$37,936
State rank
5
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for helpers--electricians. The middle earner takes $52,080, which ranks 5 of 47 states with published figures. That is about 22.05% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Helpers--electricians ranks 355 among 492 occupations California publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $52,080 the take-home is $42,709. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $37,936 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $53,730, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California ranks 5 of 47 states publishing a median for helpers--electricians, at $52,080 — about 22.05% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 355 of 492 in California places helpers--electricians in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $42,709 for helpers--electricians, from $52,080. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $37,936. ⚠️ 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 $53,730 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: Helpers--Electricians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $68,660 |
| This salary | $52,080 |
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 | $42,709 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,026 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,370 |
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 | $50,441 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,913 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
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 helpers--electricians in California earn under $52,080 and half over. The published range runs $38,620 at the tenth percentile to $68,660 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In California the take-home figure of $42,709, from $52,080, 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 355 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $37,936, the adjusted value of that $52,080 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 355 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--electricians in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,620 to $68,660; 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 California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $42,709 from $52,080. 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 355 of 492 locally.
- This $37,936 adjusted figure, worked from $52,080, 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 355 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 355 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 $53,730 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $38,620 and the top tenth $68,660, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $37,936 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and California's own levy, $42,709 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 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 $53,730. 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 ($38,620 to $68,660) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
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 $37,936 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 $42,709 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.