Library Assistants, Clerical in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,338
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$6,552
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,275
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$37,890
Kept after tax
$31,338
Worth in national money
$32,275
State rank
17
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Maine is 17 of 50 states for library assistants, clerical, with a middle wage of $37,890. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Maine this is lower-paid work. Of 484 occupations the state publishes figures for, library assistants, clerical ranks 453. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Maine costs about what the country costs, so from $37,890, take-home of $31,338 is worth roughly $32,275 in national money. The average comes to $39,620, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maine ranks 17 of 50 for library assistants, clerical at $37,890. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Maine reports, library assistants, clerical ranks 453 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.
- Price parity in Maine is near the national base, so for library assistants, clerical, whose median is $37,890, the adjusted figure of $32,275 differs little from $31,338 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $39,620 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Library Assistants, Clerical
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,970 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,540 |
| This salary | $37,890 |
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 Maine | $31,338 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,625 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,299 |
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 | $36,288 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,570 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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 Maine earn under $37,890 and half over. The published range runs $32,970 at the tenth percentile to $48,540 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 Maine's $31,338, worked from $37,890. 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 453 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maine, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,275, the adjusted value of that $37,890 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 453 of 484 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for library assistants, clerical in Maine, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $32,970 to $48,540; 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 Maine take-home of $31,338, on $37,890 for work ranking 453 of 484 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 453 of 484 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maine, so $32,275 — the adjusted value of that $37,890 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 453 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 $39,620, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $32,970 at the tenth percentile, $48,540 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Maine is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $32,275 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 Maine's own levy, $31,338 remains.
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 Maine is $39,620. 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 ($32,970 to $48,540) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $32,275 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 $31,338 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.