Helpers--Production Workers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,473
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$6,207
15.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,108
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$39,680
Kept after tax
$33,473
Worth in national money
$33,108
State rank
28
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona sits in the middle of the pack for helpers--production workers. The median is $39,680, ranking 28 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Arizona, this one sits low: 428 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $39,680, tax leaves $33,473, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $33,108 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $40,520, since top earners drag the number up.
- Arizona occupies the middle band for helpers--production workers: a median of $39,680, ranking 28 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Helpers--production workers occupies position 428 of 491 in Arizona'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.
- Because Arizona sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for helpers--production workers — median $39,680 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $33,473 retained, $33,108 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $40,520 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Helpers--Production Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,930 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,740 |
| This salary | $39,680 |
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 Arizona | $33,473 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,063 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,946 |
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 | $38,946 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,353 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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--production workers in Arizona earn under $39,680 and half over. The published range runs $33,930 at the tenth percentile to $48,740 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $33,473 take-home in Arizona comes from $39,680. 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 428 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arizona, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $33,108, the adjusted value of that $39,680 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 428 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--production workers in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,930 to $48,740; 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 $33,473, from $39,680, assumes a single Arizona 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 428 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 28 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arizona, so $33,108 — the adjusted value of that $39,680 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 428 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,930 and the top tenth $48,740, so most people doing this work in Arizona sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $33,108 of national purchasing power.
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 Arizona adds its own income tax on top — which is why $33,473 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 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 ($33,930 to $48,740) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $33,108 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 $33,473 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.