Highway Maintenance Workers in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,334
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$10,416
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,010
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$53,750
Kept after tax
$43,334
Worth in national money
$46,010
State rank
17
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Michigan pays highway maintenance workers around $53,750 at the midpoint, 17 of 49 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Highway maintenance workers ranks 279 among 493 occupations Michigan publishes pay for.
- Here is where Michigan does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $53,750 you keep $43,334, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $46,010 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $51,910, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For highway maintenance workers the Michigan median is $53,750, ranking 17 of 49 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 279 of 493 in Michigan places highway maintenance workers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Michigan income tax, retained pay for highway maintenance workers on $53,750 is $43,334. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $46,010 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 $51,910 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Highway Maintenance Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $53,750 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,460 |
| This salary | $53,750 |
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 Michigan | $43,334 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,368 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$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 | $51,219 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$818 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 highway maintenance workers in Michigan earn under $53,750 and half over. The published range runs $34,830 at the tenth percentile to $63,460 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 Michigan's $43,334, worked from $53,750. 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 279 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Michigan, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $46,010, the adjusted value of that $53,750 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 279 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for highway maintenance workers in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,830 to $63,460; 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 Michigan take-home of $43,334, on $53,750 for work ranking 279 of 493 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 279 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Michigan, so $46,010 — the adjusted value of that $53,750 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 279 of 493 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 $51,910, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $34,830 at the bottom tenth to $63,460 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Michigan sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $46,010 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 Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $43,334 of this wage survives to your account.
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 Michigan is $51,910. 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 ($34,830 to $63,460) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $46,010 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 $43,334 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.