Highway Maintenance Workers in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,141
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$6,699
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,405
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — 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
$38,840
Kept after tax
$32,141
Worth in national money
$36,405
State rank
45
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Oklahoma is among the lower-paying states for highway maintenance workers. The middle earner takes $38,840, ranking 45 of 49 states — about 22.72% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Oklahoma, this one sits low: 382 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $38,840 you keep $32,141 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $36,405 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $40,570, since top earners drag the number up.
- Oklahoma ranks 45 of 49 for highway maintenance workers, with a median of $38,840 — about 22.72% 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 382 of 492 in Oklahoma'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.
- Retained pay in Oklahoma is $32,141 after the full tax stack, from $38,840. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,405 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $40,570 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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: Highway Maintenance Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,840 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,150 |
| This salary | $38,840 |
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 Oklahoma | $32,141 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,388 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,047 |
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 | $37,288 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,475 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Oklahoma earn less than $38,840. The published range is $31,220 up to $48,150, 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 Oklahoma's $32,141, worked from $38,840. 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 382 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,405 uses one figure for the whole of Oklahoma. 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 382.
- Reported values are medians; for highway maintenance workers in Oklahoma the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,220 to $48,150. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Oklahoma take-home of $32,141, on $38,840 for work ranking 382 of 492 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 382 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,405, worked from $38,840, 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 Oklahoma address, on work sitting at 382 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $40,570, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,220 at the bottom tenth to $48,150 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $36,405.
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; Oklahoma then takes its own share, leaving $32,141.
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 Oklahoma is $40,570. 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 ($31,220 to $48,150) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oklahoma rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Oklahoma'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 $36,405 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 $32,141 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma 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.