Industrial Engineers in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,814
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$23,746
23.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,758
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$99,560
Kept after tax
$75,814
Worth in national money
$77,758
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania is among the lower-paying states for industrial engineers. The middle earner takes $99,560, ranking 38 of 51 states — about 2.81% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Pennsylvania this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, industrial engineers ranks 61 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $99,560, tax leaves $75,814, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $77,758 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $103,930, since top earners drag the number up.
- Pennsylvania ranks 38 of 51 for industrial engineers, with a median of $99,560 — about 2.81% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Pennsylvania publishes a median for, industrial engineers sits 61 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Because Pennsylvania sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for industrial engineers — median $99,560 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $75,814 retained, $77,758 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $103,930 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Industrial Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $69,700 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $99,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $143,210 |
| This salary | $99,560 |
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 Pennsylvania | $75,814 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,870 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,405 |
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 | $95,215 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,704 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $99,560. The published range is $69,700 up to $143,210, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $75,814, from $99,560, 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 61 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $77,758 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. 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 61.
- Reported values are medians; for industrial engineers in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $69,700 to $143,210. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $75,814 from $99,560. 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 61 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $77,758, worked from $99,560, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 61 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 $103,930, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $69,700 and the top tenth $143,210 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $77,758 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 Pennsylvania adds its own income tax on top — which is why $75,814 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.
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 Pennsylvania is $103,930. 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 ($69,700) and the ninetieth ($143,210) 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?
Pennsylvania'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 $77,758 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 $75,814 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.