Library Assistants, Clerical in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,571
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$8,289
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,149
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
$47,860
Kept after tax
$39,571
Worth in national money
$35,149
State rank
2
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays library assistants, clerical a middle wage of $47,860, ranking 2 of 50 states and sitting about 29.67% above the national middle.
- Within California this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, library assistants, clerical ranks 383. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $47,860 the take-home is $39,571. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $35,149 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $51,570, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California's median for library assistants, clerical is $47,860, about 29.67% above the national figure and 2 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Against every occupation California reports, library assistants, clerical ranks 383 of 492, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $39,571 for library assistants, clerical, from $47,860. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,149. ⚠️ 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 $51,570 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Library Assistants, Clerical
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $68,810 |
| This salary | $47,860 |
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 | $39,571 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,636 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,668 |
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 | $46,536 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,064 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $47,860 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,920 and the ninetieth is $68,810 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $39,571 take-home in California comes from $47,860. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 383 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $35,149, the adjusted value of that $47,860 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 383 of 492 in the state.
- The California median of $47,860 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,920 to $68,810. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $39,571, from $47,860, assumes a single California filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 383 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 2 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $35,149 — the adjusted value of that $47,860 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 383 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 $51,570, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,920 and the top tenth $68,810, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $35,149 rather than its face figure.
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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $39,571 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 California is $51,570. 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 ($36,920 to $68,810) 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 $35,149 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 $39,571 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.