Machinists in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,508
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$10,682
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,311
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$57,190
Kept after tax
$46,508
Worth in national money
$41,311
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. California pays machinists a middle wage of $57,190, 37 of 51 states and about 2.66% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Machinists ranks 323 among 492 occupations California publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $57,190 the take-home is $46,508. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $41,311 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $61,380, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California's $57,190 median for machinists places it 37 of 51 states, about 2.66% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 323 of 492 in California places machinists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $46,508 for machinists, from $57,190. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $41,311. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $61,380 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Machinists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $88,280 |
| This salary | $57,190 |
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 California | $46,508 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,132 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,221 |
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 | $55,169 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,942 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $57,190. The published range is $37,440 up to $88,280, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In California the take-home figure of $46,508, from $57,190, 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 323 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $41,311 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 323.
- Reported values are medians; for machinists in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,440 to $88,280. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $46,508 from $57,190. 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 323 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $41,311, worked from $57,190, 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 California address, on work sitting at 323 of 492 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 $61,380, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $37,440 and the top tenth $88,280 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $41,311 — 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; California then takes its own share, leaving $46,508.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 California is $61,380. 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 ($37,440) and the ninetieth ($88,280) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $41,311 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 $46,508 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.