Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,241
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$7,899
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,059
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$42,140
Kept after tax
$34,241
Worth in national money
$38,059
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $42,140, ranking 51 of 51 states — about 16.74% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 333 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $42,140 you keep $34,241 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $38,059 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $44,270, since top earners drag the number up.
- Alabama ranks 51 of 51 for human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping, with a median of $42,140 — about 16.74% 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.
- Position 333 of 482 in Alabama places human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping 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.
- Retained pay in Alabama is $34,241 after the full tax stack, from $42,140. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $38,059 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $44,270 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,520 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,460 |
| This salary | $42,140 |
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 Alabama | $34,241 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,039 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$971 |
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 | $39,902 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,175 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping in Alabama earn under $42,140 and half over. The published range runs $31,520 at the tenth percentile to $61,460 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $34,241, from $42,140, 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 333 of 482 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $38,059, the adjusted value of that $42,140 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 333 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,520 to $61,460; 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.
- Take-home for Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $34,241 from $42,140. 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 333 of 482 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $38,059 — the adjusted value of that $42,140 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 333 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $44,270, 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 — $31,520 at the tenth percentile, $61,460 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $38,059 in national terms.
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; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $34,241.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Alabama is $44,270. 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 ($31,520 to $61,460) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $38,059 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 $34,241 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.