Helpers--Production Workers in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,455
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$6,925
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,692
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$38,380
Kept after tax
$31,455
Worth in national money
$31,692
State rank
34
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Delaware is among the lower-paying states for helpers--production workers. The middle earner takes $38,380, ranking 34 of 49 states — about 1.77% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Delaware, this one sits low: 376 of 445 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $38,380 the take-home is $31,455, which is worth about $31,692 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $39,980, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Delaware ranks 34 of 49 for helpers--production workers, with a median of $38,380 — about 1.77% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Helpers--production workers occupies position 376 of 445 in Delaware'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.
- Delaware's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for helpers--production workers on its $38,380 median: $31,455 retained after tax becomes $31,692 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $39,980 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Helpers--Production Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,090 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,180 |
| This salary | $38,380 |
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 Delaware | $31,455 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,018 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,286 |
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 | $36,434 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,765 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
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 Delaware earn under $38,380 and half over. The published range runs $35,090 at the tenth percentile to $47,180 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Delaware the take-home figure of $31,455, from $38,380, 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 376 of 445 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Delaware, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $31,692, the adjusted value of that $38,380 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 376 of 445 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--production workers in Delaware, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,090 to $47,180; 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 Delaware is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,455 from $38,380. 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 376 of 445 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Delaware, so $31,692 — the adjusted value of that $38,380 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 376 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $39,980, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,090 at the tenth percentile, $47,180 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Delaware sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $31,692 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Delaware adds its own income tax on top — which is why $31,455 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Delaware is $39,980. 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 ($35,090 to $47,180) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware'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 $31,692 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 $31,455 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.