Helpers--Production Workers in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,972
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$8,148
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,048
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
$44,120
Kept after tax
$35,972
Worth in national money
$37,048
State rank
14
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine is one of the better-paying states for helpers--production workers. The middle earner takes $44,120, which ranks 14 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 12.93% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Maine, this one sits low: 408 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $44,120 the take-home is $35,972, which is worth about $37,048 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $45,230, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maine ranks 14 of 49 states publishing a median for helpers--production workers, at $44,120 — about 12.93% 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.
- Helpers--production workers occupies position 408 of 484 in Maine'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.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for helpers--production workers on its $44,120 median: $35,972 retained after tax becomes $37,048 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $45,230 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--Production Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,180 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,910 |
| This salary | $44,120 |
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 | $35,972 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,630 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,677 |
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 | $42,056 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,028 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $44,120 as a midpoint for Maine, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $33,180 and the ninetieth is $57,910 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $35,972 take-home in Maine comes from $44,120. 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 408 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maine, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $37,048, the adjusted value of that $44,120 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 408 of 484 in the state.
- The Maine median of $44,120 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $33,180 to $57,910. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $35,972, from $44,120, assumes a single Maine 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 408 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 14 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maine, so $37,048 — the adjusted value of that $44,120 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 408 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $33,180 and the top tenth $57,910, so most people doing this work in Maine sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $37,048.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Maine then takes its own share, leaving $35,972.
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 ($33,180 to $57,910) 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 $37,048 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 $35,972 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.