Library Assistants, Clerical in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,058
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$5,492
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,965
Kansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kansas — 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
$31,550
Kept after tax
$26,058
Worth in national money
$28,965
State rank
39
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Kansas pays library assistants, clerical a middle wage of $31,550, 39 of 50 states and about 14.52% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Kansas this is lower-paid work. Of 488 occupations the state publishes figures for, library assistants, clerical ranks 458. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Kansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $31,550 you keep $26,058, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $28,965 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $31,460, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kansas's $31,550 median for library assistants, clerical places it 39 of 50 states, about 14.52% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Kansas reports, library assistants, clerical ranks 458 of 488, 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.
- After federal, FICA and Kansas income tax, retained pay for library assistants, clerical on $31,550 is $26,058. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $28,965 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 $31,460 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Library Assistants, Clerical
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $20,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $31,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $41,180 |
| This salary | $31,550 |
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 Kansas | $26,058 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $27,530 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$634 |
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 | $29,718 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$767 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 library assistants, clerical in Kansas earn under $31,550 and half over. The published range runs $20,800 at the tenth percentile to $41,180 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 Kansas's $26,058, worked from $31,550. 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 458 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,965 uses one figure for the whole of Kansas. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 458.
- Figures are distribution medians for library assistants, clerical in Kansas, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $20,800 to $41,180; 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 Kansas take-home of $26,058, on $31,550 for work ranking 458 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 458 of 488 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,965, worked from $31,550, 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 Kansas address, on work sitting at 458 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $20,800 at the bottom tenth to $41,180 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. Kansas is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $28,965 in national terms.
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; Kansas then takes its own share, leaving $26,058.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($20,800 to $41,180) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kansas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kansas'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 $28,965 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 $26,058 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kansas 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.