Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,130
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$9,280
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,300
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
$48,410
Kept after tax
$39,130
Worth in national money
$40,300
State rank
4
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Maine pays this job a middle wage of $48,410, ranking 4 of 48 states and sitting about 14.28% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 335 among 484 occupations Maine publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $48,410 the take-home is $39,130, which is worth about $40,300 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $47,310, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Maine's median for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters is $48,410, about 14.28% above the national figure and 4 of 48 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Position 335 of 484 in Maine places helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters 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.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters on its $48,410 median: $39,130 retained after tax becomes $40,300 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $47,310 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,080 |
| This salary | $48,410 |
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 | $39,130 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,077 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,972 |
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 | $45,986 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,385 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $48,410 as a midpoint for Maine, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,840 and the ninetieth is $56,080 — 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 $39,130, worked from $48,410. 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 335 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maine, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $40,300, the adjusted value of that $48,410 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 335 of 484 in the state.
- The Maine median of $48,410 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,840 to $56,080. 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 $39,130, on $48,410 for work ranking 335 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 335 of 484 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maine, so $40,300 — the adjusted value of that $48,410 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 335 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,840 at the bottom tenth to $56,080 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Maine sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $40,300 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Maine's own levy, $39,130 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,840 to $56,080) 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 $40,300 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 $39,130 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.
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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.