Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,087
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$9,623
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,285
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$49,710
Kept after tax
$40,087
Worth in national money
$41,285
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $49,710, ranking 22 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 315 among 484 occupations Maine publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $49,710 the take-home is $40,087, which is worth about $41,285 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $50,910, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maine occupies the middle band for human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping: a median of $49,710, ranking 22 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 315 of 484 in Maine 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.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping on its $49,710 median: $40,087 retained after tax becomes $41,285 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $50,910 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Human Resources Assistants, Except Payroll and Timekeeping
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,740 |
| This salary | $49,710 |
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 Maine | $40,087 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,122 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,061 |
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 | $47,177 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,493 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $49,710 as a midpoint for Maine, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,100 and the ninetieth is $64,740 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $40,087 take-home in Maine comes from $49,710. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 315 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,285 uses one figure for the whole of Maine. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 315.
- The Maine median of $49,710 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,100 to $64,740. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $40,087, from $49,710, assumes a single Maine filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 315 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,285, worked from $49,710, 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 Maine address, on work sitting at 315 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,100 at the bottom tenth to $64,740 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 $41,285.
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 Maine adds its own income tax on top — which is why $40,087 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,100 to $64,740) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $41,285 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 $40,087 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.