Information and Record Clerks, All Other in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,616
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$11,064
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,295
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$58,680
Kept after tax
$47,616
Worth in national money
$42,295
State rank
2
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $58,680, which ranks 2 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 18.55% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations California reports figures for, this is number 308.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $58,680 the take-home is $47,616. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $42,295 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $60,490, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California ranks 2 of 50 states publishing a median for information and record clerks, all other, at $58,680 — about 18.55% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- In California's occupational distribution, information and record clerks, all other sits at 308 of 492 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $47,616 for information and record clerks, all other, from $58,680. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $42,295. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $60,490 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Information and Record Clerks, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,950 |
| This salary | $58,680 |
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 California | $47,616 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,329 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,469 |
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 | $56,548 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,242 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $58,680 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $42,360 and the ninetieth is $80,950 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In California the take-home figure of $47,616, from $58,680, 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 308 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 $42,295 uses one figure for the whole of California. 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 308.
- The California median of $58,680 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $42,360 to $80,950. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $47,616 from $58,680. 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 308 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,295, worked from $58,680, 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 California address, on work sitting at 308 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $60,490 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $42,360 and the top tenth $80,950, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $42,295 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; California then takes its own share, leaving $47,616.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 California is $60,490. 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 ($42,360 to $80,950) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $42,295 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $47,616 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.