Medical Transcriptionists in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,990
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$6,050
15.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,211
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
$38,040
Kept after tax
$31,990
Worth in national money
$36,211
State rank
33
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana sits in the middle of the pack for medical transcriptionists. The median is $38,040, ranking 33 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Louisiana, this one sits low: 370 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,040 you keep $31,990, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $36,211 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,660, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Louisiana occupies the middle band for medical transcriptionists: a median of $38,040, ranking 33 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Medical transcriptionists occupies position 370 of 484 in Louisiana'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.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for medical transcriptionists on $38,040 is $31,990. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $36,211 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 $39,660 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Medical Transcriptionists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,160 |
| This salary | $38,040 |
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 | $31,990 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,745 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,513 |
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 | $37,100 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,040 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,040 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,600 and the ninetieth is $51,160 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Louisiana the take-home figure of $31,990, from $38,040, 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 370 of 484 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,211 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 370.
- The Louisiana median of $38,040 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,600 to $51,160. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Louisiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,990 from $38,040. 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 370 of 484 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,211, worked from $38,040, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 370 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $39,660, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $30,600 and the top tenth $51,160, so most people doing this work in Louisiana sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $36,211.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Louisiana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $31,990 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 Louisiana is $39,660. 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 ($30,600 to $51,160) 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 $36,211 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 $31,990 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.