Maintenance Workers, Machinery in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,776
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$10,194
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,614
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$62,970
Kept after tax
$52,776
Worth in national money
$48,614
State rank
17
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Washington is 17 of 46 states for maintenance workers, machinery, with a middle wage of $62,970. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Maintenance workers, machinery ranks 286 among 493 occupations Washington publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $62,970 the take-home is $52,776. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $48,614 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $70,460, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington ranks 17 of 46 for maintenance workers, machinery at $62,970. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 286 of 493 in Washington places maintenance workers, machinery 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 Washington income tax is $52,776 for maintenance workers, machinery, from $62,970. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $48,614. ⚠️ 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 $70,460 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Maintenance Workers, Machinery
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $94,420 |
| This salary | $62,970 |
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 Washington | $52,776 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,776 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,697 |
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 | $62,970 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,889 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 maintenance workers, machinery in Washington earn under $62,970 and half over. The published range runs $51,690 at the tenth percentile to $94,420 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Washington's $52,776, worked from $62,970. 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 286 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $48,614 uses one figure for the whole of Washington. 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 286.
- Figures are distribution medians for maintenance workers, machinery in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,690 to $94,420; 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.
- The Washington take-home of $52,776, on $62,970 for work ranking 286 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 286 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $48,614, worked from $62,970, 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 Washington address, on work sitting at 286 of 493 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 $70,460, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $51,690 and the top tenth $94,420, so most people doing this work in Washington sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Washington costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $48,614 rather than its face figure.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $52,776 survives, because Washington levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Washington is $70,460. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($51,690 to $94,420) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $48,614 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $52,776 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.