Library Assistants, Clerical in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,252
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$8,658
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,831
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$45,910
Kept after tax
$37,252
Worth in national money
$35,831
State rank
5
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Maryland pays library assistants, clerical a middle wage of $45,910, ranking 5 of 50 states and sitting about 24.38% above the national middle.
- Against 489 occupations Maryland publishes, library assistants, clerical lands at 388. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Maryland is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $45,910 the take-home is $37,252; in national-average money that behaves like $35,831. The average lands at $45,150, below the middle of the range.
- Maryland's median for library assistants, clerical is $45,910, about 24.38% above the national figure and 5 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.
- Within Maryland, this work ranks 388 of 489 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Take-home for library assistants, clerical in Maryland, on $45,910, is $37,252; deflated by the state's price level, $35,831. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $45,150 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Library Assistants, Clerical
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,460 |
| This salary | $45,910 |
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 Maryland | $37,252 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,069 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,374 |
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 | $43,649 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,289 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,910 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $32,130 and the ninetieth is $61,460 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Maryland the take-home figure of $37,252, from $45,910, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 388 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,831 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 388.
- The Maryland median of $45,910 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $32,130 to $61,460. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Maryland is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,252 from $45,910. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 388 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,831, worked from $45,910, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 388 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $32,130 and the top tenth $61,460, so most people doing this work in Maryland sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $35,831 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $37,252.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($32,130 to $61,460) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $35,831 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 $37,252 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.