Human Resources Specialists in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,746
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$13,244
19.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,571
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$66,990
Kept after tax
$53,746
Worth in national money
$58,571
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri is among the lower-paying states for human resources specialists. The middle earner takes $66,990, ranking 37 of 51 states — about 11.79% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 488 occupations Missouri reports figures for, this is number 152.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $66,990 you keep $53,746, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $58,571 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $74,670, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Missouri ranks 37 of 51 for human resources specialists, with a median of $66,990 — about 11.79% 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.
- In Missouri's occupational distribution, human resources specialists sits at 152 of 488 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Missouri income tax, retained pay for human resources specialists on $66,990 is $53,746. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $58,571 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 $74,670 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Human Resources Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $66,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $110,660 |
| This salary | $66,990 |
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 Missouri | $53,746 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $55,957 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$987 |
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 | $64,177 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,364 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $66,990. The published range is $44,730 up to $110,660, 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 Missouri's $53,746, worked from $66,990. 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 152 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $58,571 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 152.
- Reported values are medians; for human resources specialists in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $44,730 to $110,660. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Missouri take-home of $53,746, on $66,990 for work ranking 152 of 488 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 152 of 488 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $58,571, worked from $66,990, 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 Missouri address, on work sitting at 152 of 488 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 $74,670, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $44,730 at the bottom tenth to $110,660 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Missouri is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $58,571 in national terms.
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 Missouri's own levy, $53,746 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Missouri is $74,670. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($44,730) and the ninetieth ($110,660) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $58,571 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 $53,746 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.