Helpers--Production Workers in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,139
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$5,741
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,236
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$33,880
Kept after tax
$28,139
Worth in national money
$32,236
State rank
49
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Mississippi is among the lower-paying states for helpers--production workers. The middle earner takes $33,880, ranking 49 of 49 states — about 13.28% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Mississippi, this one sits low: 422 of 486 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Mississippi is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $33,880 the take-home is $28,139; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $32,236 would nationally. The average comes to $35,890, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Mississippi ranks 49 of 49 for helpers--production workers, with a median of $33,880 — about 13.28% 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 422 of 486 in Mississippi'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.
- Post-tax income for helpers--production workers in Mississippi, on $33,880, is $28,139 — equivalent to $32,236 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $35,890 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Helpers--Production Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,440 |
| This salary | $33,880 |
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 Mississippi | $28,139 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,403 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,979 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $32,308 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,393 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Mississippi earn less than $33,880. The published range is $30,420 up to $47,440, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Mississippi's $28,139, worked from $33,880. 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 422 of 486.
- One number stands for prices across all of Mississippi, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,236, the adjusted value of that $33,880 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 422 of 486 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for helpers--production workers in Mississippi the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,420 to $47,440. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Mississippi take-home of $28,139, on $33,880 for work ranking 422 of 486 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 422 of 486 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Mississippi, so $32,236 — the adjusted value of that $33,880 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 422 of 486 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $35,890, 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 — $30,420 at the tenth percentile, $47,440 at the ninetieth.
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 $32,236.
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 Mississippi's own levy, $28,139 remains.
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 Mississippi is $35,890. 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 ($30,420 to $47,440) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi'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 $32,236 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 $28,139 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.