Library Technicians in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,806
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$8,294
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,775
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$46,100
Kept after tax
$37,806
Worth in national money
$38,775
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 20 of 51 states for library technicians, with a middle wage of $46,100. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports figures for, this is number 365.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $46,100, take-home of $37,806 is worth roughly $38,775 in national money. The average lands at $45,770, below the middle of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 20 of 51 for library technicians at $46,100. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Pennsylvania's occupational distribution, library technicians sits at 365 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for library technicians, whose median is $46,100, the adjusted figure of $38,775 differs little from $37,806 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $45,770 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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 | $29,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,530 |
| This salary | $46,100 |
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 Pennsylvania | $37,806 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,221 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,586 |
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 | $44,339 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,918 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 technicians in Pennsylvania earn under $46,100 and half over. The published range runs $29,430 at the tenth percentile to $63,530 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $37,806 take-home in Pennsylvania comes from $46,100. 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 365 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $38,775, the adjusted value of that $46,100 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 365 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for library technicians in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,430 to $63,530; 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.
- Retained pay of $37,806, from $46,100, assumes a single Pennsylvania 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 365 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 20 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $38,775 — the adjusted value of that $46,100 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 365 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $29,430, the highest tenth $63,530, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $38,775 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Pennsylvania's own levy, $37,806 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($29,430) and the ninetieth ($63,530) 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?
Pennsylvania'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 $38,775 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 $37,806 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.