Library Technicians in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,822
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$5,858
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,602
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$34,680
Kept after tax
$28,822
Worth in national money
$30,602
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Michigan is among the lower-paying states for library technicians. The middle earner takes $34,680, ranking 44 of 51 states — about 22.21% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Michigan, this one sits low: 465 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $34,680 you keep $28,822 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $30,602 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $37,040, since top earners drag the number up.
- Michigan ranks 44 of 51 for library technicians, with a median of $34,680 — about 22.21% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Library technicians occupies position 465 of 493 in Michigan's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in Michigan is $28,822 after the full tax stack, from $34,680. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $30,602 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $37,040 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Library Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $25,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,990 |
| This salary | $34,680 |
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 Michigan | $28,822 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,045 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$317 |
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 | $33,158 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$383 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Michigan earn less than $34,680. The published range is $25,960 up to $51,990, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Michigan's $28,822, worked from $34,680. 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 465 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,602 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 465.
- Reported values are medians; for library technicians in Michigan the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $25,960 to $51,990. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Michigan take-home of $28,822, on $34,680 for work ranking 465 of 493 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 465 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,602, worked from $34,680, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 465 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $37,040 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $25,960 and the top tenth $51,990 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $30,602.
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 Michigan's own levy, $28,822 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 Michigan is $37,040. 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 ($25,960) and the ninetieth ($51,990) 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?
Michigan'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 $30,602 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 $28,822 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.