Helpers--Production Workers in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,816
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$6,764
16.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,852
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$40,580
Kept after tax
$33,816
Worth in national money
$36,852
State rank
25
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Missouri is 25 of 49 states for helpers--production workers, with a middle wage of $40,580. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Missouri this is lower-paid work. Of 488 occupations the state publishes figures for, helpers--production workers ranks 390. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Missouri is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $40,580 the take-home is $33,816; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $36,852 would nationally. The average comes to $42,900, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Missouri ranks 25 of 49 for helpers--production workers at $40,580. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Missouri reports, helpers--production workers ranks 390 of 488, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for helpers--production workers in Missouri, on $40,580, is $33,816 — equivalent to $36,852 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 $42,900 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 | $34,330 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,160 |
| This salary | $40,580 |
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 Missouri | $33,816 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,786 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,055 |
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 | $39,373 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,276 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 Missouri earn under $40,580 and half over. The published range runs $34,330 at the tenth percentile to $56,160 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Missouri's $33,816, worked from $40,580. 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 390 of 488.
- Two cautions on $36,852, the adjusted value of that $40,580 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Missouri. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 390 of 488 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--production workers in Missouri, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,330 to $56,160; 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.
- The Missouri take-home of $33,816, on $40,580 for work ranking 390 of 488 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 390 of 488 in the state.
- This $36,852 adjusted figure, worked from $40,580, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 390 of 488 in the state. The occupation ranks 390 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $42,900 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,330 and the top tenth $56,160, so most people doing this work in Missouri 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 $36,852.
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; Missouri then takes its own share, leaving $33,816.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Missouri is $42,900. 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 ($34,330 to $56,160) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $36,852 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 $33,816 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.