Materials Engineers in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$95,738
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$32,932
25.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$108,368
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$128,670
Kept after tax
$95,738
Worth in national money
$108,368
State rank
5
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for materials engineers is strong here. Louisiana's middle earner gets $128,670, putting the state 5 of 45 — about 14.01% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Louisiana this is well-paid work. Of 484 occupations with published figures in the state, materials engineers ranks 12 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $128,670 you keep $95,738 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $108,368 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $125,450.
- For materials engineers, Louisiana sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $128,670, ranking 5 of 45 and running about 14.01% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation Louisiana publishes a median for, materials engineers sits 12 of 484 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in Louisiana is $95,738 after the full tax stack, from $128,670. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $108,368 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $125,450 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Materials Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $80,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $128,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $171,140 |
| This salary | $128,670 |
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 Louisiana | $95,738 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,212 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$6,272 |
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 | $123,588 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$8,917 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 materials engineers in Louisiana earn under $128,670 and half over. The published range runs $80,860 at the tenth percentile to $171,140 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 Louisiana's $95,738, worked from $128,670. 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 12 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Louisiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $108,368, the adjusted value of that $128,670 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 12 of 484 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for materials engineers in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $80,860 to $171,140; 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 Louisiana take-home of $95,738, on $128,670 for work ranking 12 of 484 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 12 of 484 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Louisiana, so $108,368 — the adjusted value of that $128,670 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 12 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $80,860 at the bottom tenth to $171,140 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $108,368.
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 Louisiana's own levy, $95,738 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 ($80,860 to $171,140) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $108,368 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 $95,738 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.