Helpers--Production Workers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,615
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$7,355
16.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,524
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
$43,970
Kept after tax
$36,615
Worth in national money
$32,524
State rank
15
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for helpers--production workers is strong here. California's middle earner gets $43,970, putting the state 15 of 49 — about 12.54% ahead of the national figure.
- Measured against other jobs in California, this one sits low: 442 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $43,970, tax leaves $36,615 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $32,524 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $46,150, since top earners drag the number up.
- For helpers--production workers, California sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $43,970, ranking 15 of 49 and running about 12.54% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Helpers--production workers occupies position 442 of 492 in California'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.
- After tax, $36,615 remains from the California median of $43,970 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $32,524 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $46,150 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Helpers--Production Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,130 |
| This salary | $43,970 |
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 | $36,615 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,510 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,077 |
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 | $42,857 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,349 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $43,970. The published range is $36,640 up to $62,130, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In California the take-home figure of $36,615, from $43,970, 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 442 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,524, the adjusted value of that $43,970 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 442 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for helpers--production workers in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,640 to $62,130. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,615 from $43,970. 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 442 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $32,524 — the adjusted value of that $43,970 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 442 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 $46,150, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,640 at the bottom tenth to $62,130 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $32,524 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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, $36,615 remains.
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.
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 $46,150. 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 ($36,640 to $62,130) 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 $32,524 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 $36,615 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.