Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,695
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$9,685
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,697
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$60,380
Kept after tax
$50,695
Worth in national money
$46,697
State rank
6
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Washington's middle earner gets $60,380, putting the state 6 of 47 — about 14.92% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Washington reports figures for, this is number 308.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $60,380 the take-home is $50,695. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $46,697 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $65,850, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For jewelers and precious stone and metal workers, Washington sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $60,380, ranking 6 of 47 and running about 14.92% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Washington's occupational distribution, jewelers and precious stone and metal workers sits at 308 of 493 — 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 Washington income tax is $50,695 for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers, from $60,380. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $46,697. ⚠️ 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 $65,850 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $116,020 |
| This salary | $60,380 |
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 Washington | $50,695 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,695 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,472 |
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 | $60,380 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,618 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 jewelers and precious stone and metal workers in Washington earn under $60,380 and half over. The published range runs $42,210 at the tenth percentile to $116,020 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Washington's $50,695, worked from $60,380. 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 308 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,697 uses one figure for the whole of Washington. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 308.
- Figures are distribution medians for jewelers and precious stone and metal workers in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $42,210 to $116,020; 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.
- The Washington take-home of $50,695, on $60,380 for work ranking 308 of 493 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 308 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,697, worked from $60,380, 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 Washington address, on work sitting at 308 of 493 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 $65,850 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $42,210 at the bottom tenth to $116,020 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Washington costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $46,697 rather than its face figure.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $50,695 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Washington is $65,850. 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 ($42,210) and the ninetieth ($116,020) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $46,697 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $50,695 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.