Library Assistants, Clerical in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,477
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$4,143
14.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,838
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$29,620
Kept after tax
$25,477
Worth in national money
$28,838
State rank
45
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Louisiana pays library assistants, clerical a middle wage of $29,620, 45 of 50 states and about 19.75% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Louisiana this is lower-paid work. Of 484 occupations the state publishes figures for, library assistants, clerical ranks 441. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $29,620 you keep $25,477, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $28,838 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $31,130, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Louisiana's $29,620 median for library assistants, clerical places it 45 of 50 states, about 19.75% 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 Louisiana reports, library assistants, clerical ranks 441 of 484, 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 Louisiana income tax, retained pay for library assistants, clerical on $29,620 is $25,477. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $28,838 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 $31,130 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Library Assistants, Clerical
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $19,680 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,620 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,070 |
| This salary | $29,620 |
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 Louisiana | $25,477 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,980 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,104 |
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 | $28,995 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,544 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Louisiana earn less than $29,620. The published range is $19,680 up to $45,070, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $25,477 take-home in Louisiana comes from $29,620. 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 441 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Louisiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,838, the adjusted value of that $29,620 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 441 of 484 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for library assistants, clerical in Louisiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $19,680 to $45,070. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $25,477, from $29,620, assumes a single Louisiana 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 441 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 45 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Louisiana, so $28,838 — the adjusted value of that $29,620 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 441 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $31,130, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $19,680 at the bottom tenth to $45,070 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $28,838 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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $25,477.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Louisiana is $31,130. 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 ($19,680) and the ninetieth ($45,070) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $28,838 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 $25,477 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.