Machinists in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,133
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$10,947
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,585
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$61,080
Kept after tax
$50,133
Worth in national money
$49,585
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona sits in the middle of the pack for machinists. The median is $61,080, ranking 18 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Arizona, this sits in the middle: 221 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $61,080 the take-home is $50,133, which is worth about $49,585 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $59,750, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Arizona occupies the middle band for machinists: a median of $61,080, ranking 18 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Machinists ranks 221 of 491 occupations in Arizona by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for machinists on its $61,080 median: $50,133 retained after tax becomes $49,585 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $59,750 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Machinists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,610 |
| This salary | $61,080 |
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 Arizona | $50,133 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,258 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,163 |
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 | $59,681 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,825 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 machinists in Arizona earn under $61,080 and half over. The published range runs $40,290 at the tenth percentile to $76,610 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $50,133 take-home in Arizona comes from $61,080. 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 221 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,585 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 221.
- Figures are distribution medians for machinists in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $40,290 to $76,610; 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 $50,133, from $61,080, assumes a single Arizona 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 221 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 18 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,585, worked from $61,080, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 221 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $40,290 at the bottom tenth to $76,610 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $49,585 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Arizona's own levy, $50,133 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($40,290 to $76,610) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $49,585 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 $50,133 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.