Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,740
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$5,130
15.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,320
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
$33,870
Kept after tax
$28,740
Worth in national money
$31,320
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri sits in the middle of the pack for laundry and dry-cleaning workers. The median is $33,870, ranking 30 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Missouri, this one sits low: 456 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $33,870 you keep $28,740, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $31,320 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $34,370, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Missouri occupies the middle band for laundry and dry-cleaning workers: a median of $33,870, ranking 30 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.
- Laundry and dry-cleaning workers occupies position 456 of 488 in Missouri's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Missouri income tax, retained pay for laundry and dry-cleaning workers on $33,870 is $28,740. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $31,320 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 $34,370 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $33,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $39,270 |
| This salary | $33,870 |
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 | $28,740 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,395 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,071 |
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 | $33,055 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,295 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 laundry and dry-cleaning workers in Missouri earn under $33,870 and half over. The published range runs $28,600 at the tenth percentile to $39,270 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 Missouri's $28,740, worked from $33,870. 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 456 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Missouri, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $31,320, the adjusted value of that $33,870 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 456 of 488 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for laundry and dry-cleaning workers in Missouri, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,600 to $39,270; 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 Missouri take-home of $28,740, on $33,870 for work ranking 456 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 456 of 488 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Missouri, so $31,320 — the adjusted value of that $33,870 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 456 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,600 at the bottom tenth to $39,270 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $31,320 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, $28,740 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,600 to $39,270) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
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 $31,320 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 $28,740 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.