Medical Transcriptionists in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,037
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$5,513
15.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,697
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$36,550
Kept after tax
$31,037
Worth in national money
$30,697
State rank
40
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona is among the lower-paying states for medical transcriptionists. The middle earner takes $36,550, ranking 40 of 50 states — about 9.55% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Arizona, this one sits low: 460 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $36,550, tax leaves $31,037, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $30,697 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $40,060, since top earners drag the number up.
- Arizona ranks 40 of 50 for medical transcriptionists, with a median of $36,550 — about 9.55% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Medical transcriptionists occupies position 460 of 491 in Arizona's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Because Arizona sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for medical transcriptionists — median $36,550 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $31,037 retained, $30,697 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $40,060 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Medical Transcriptionists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,850 |
| This salary | $36,550 |
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 Arizona | $31,037 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,548 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,768 |
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 | $35,914 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,138 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arizona earn less than $36,550. The published range is $31,110 up to $50,850, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $31,037 take-home in Arizona comes from $36,550. 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 460 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $30,697 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 460.
- Reported values are medians; for medical transcriptionists in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,110 to $50,850. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $31,037, from $36,550, assumes a single Arizona 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 460 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 40 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $30,697, worked from $36,550, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 460 of 491 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 $40,060, 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 $31,110 and the top tenth $50,850, so most people doing this work in Arizona sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $30,697 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Arizona's own levy, $31,037 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.
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 Arizona is $40,060. 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 ($31,110 to $50,850) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $30,697 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 $31,037 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.