Highway Maintenance Workers in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,084
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$6,476
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,145
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — 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
$37,560
Kept after tax
$31,084
Worth in national money
$32,145
State rank
46
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Georgia is among the lower-paying states for highway maintenance workers. The middle earner takes $37,560, ranking 46 of 49 states — about 25.27% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Georgia, this one sits low: 423 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Georgia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $37,560 you keep $31,084, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,145 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,710, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Georgia ranks 46 of 49 for highway maintenance workers, with a median of $37,560 — about 25.27% 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.
- Highway maintenance workers occupies position 423 of 492 in Georgia'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 federal, FICA and Georgia income tax, retained pay for highway maintenance workers on $37,560 is $31,084. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,145 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $39,710 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Highway Maintenance Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,760 |
| This salary | $37,560 |
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 Georgia | $31,084 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,359 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,155 |
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 | $35,973 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,397 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,560 as a midpoint for Georgia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,600 and the ninetieth is $48,760 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Georgia the take-home figure of $31,084, from $37,560, 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 423 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,145 uses one figure for the whole of Georgia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 423.
- The Georgia median of $37,560 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,600 to $48,760. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Georgia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,084 from $37,560. 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 423 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,145, worked from $37,560, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Georgia address, on work sitting at 423 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $39,710, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,600 at the tenth percentile, $48,760 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Georgia sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $32,145 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Georgia's own levy, $31,084 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 Georgia is $39,710. 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 ($30,600 to $48,760) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Georgia rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia'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 $32,145 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 $31,084 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia 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.