Mechanical Engineers in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$67,477
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$20,583
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,663
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$88,060
Kept after tax
$67,477
Worth in national money
$74,663
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for mechanical engineers is on the low side in Nebraska. The middle earner gets $88,060. That is 48 of 51 states, and about 15.42% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 488 occupations Nebraska reports, mechanical engineers comes in at 78 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Nebraska is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $88,060 the take-home is $67,477; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $74,663 would nationally. The average comes to $96,820, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For mechanical engineers, Nebraska sits in the lower band at $88,060, ranking 48 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 15.42%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Mechanical engineers ranks 78 of 488 occupations by median in Nebraska, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Post-tax income for mechanical engineers in Nebraska, on $88,060, is $67,477 — equivalent to $74,663 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $96,820 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Mechanical Engineers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,860 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $88,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $136,870 |
| This salary | $88,060 |
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 Nebraska | $67,477 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $70,780 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,825 |
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 | $83,365 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,520 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $88,060 as a midpoint for Nebraska, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $61,860 and the ninetieth is $136,870 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $67,477 take-home in Nebraska comes from $88,060. 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 78 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $74,663 uses one figure for the whole of Nebraska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 78.
- The Nebraska median of $88,060 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $61,860 to $136,870. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $67,477, from $88,060, assumes a single Nebraska 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 78 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $74,663, worked from $88,060, 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 Nebraska address, on work sitting at 78 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $96,820 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $61,860 at the bottom tenth to $136,870 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Nebraska is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $74,663 in national terms.
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; Nebraska then takes its own share, leaving $67,477.
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 Nebraska is $96,820. 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 ($61,860) and the ninetieth ($136,870) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $74,663 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 $67,477 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.