Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,971
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$6,919
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,063
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$39,890
Kept after tax
$32,971
Worth in national money
$36,063
State rank
19
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Idaho is 19 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $39,890. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Idaho this is lower-paid work. Of 476 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 391. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $39,890 you keep $32,971, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $36,063 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $39,330, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Idaho ranks 19 of 50 for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service at $39,890. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Idaho reports, mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service ranks 391 of 476, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service on $39,890 is $32,971. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $36,063 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $39,330 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Mail Clerks and Mail Machine Operators, Except Postal Service
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,340 |
| This salary | $39,890 |
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 Idaho | $32,971 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,232 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$836 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $38,321 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,012 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
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 mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in Idaho earn under $39,890 and half over. The published range runs $30,360 at the tenth percentile to $46,340 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Idaho the take-home figure of $32,971, from $39,890, 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 391 of 476 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $36,063, the adjusted value of that $39,890 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Idaho. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 391 of 476 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,360 to $46,340; 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.
- Take-home for Idaho is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $32,971 from $39,890. 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 391 of 476 locally.
- This $36,063 adjusted figure, worked from $39,890, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 391 of 476 in the state. The occupation ranks 391 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $30,360 and the top tenth $46,340, so most people doing this work in Idaho sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Idaho sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $36,063 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 Idaho's own levy, $32,971 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,360 to $46,340) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $36,063 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 $32,971 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.