Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,367
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$6,343
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,242
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$36,710
Kept after tax
$30,367
Worth in national money
$32,242
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Michigan. The middle earner gets $36,710. That is 42 of 51 states, and about 6.8% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 493 occupations Michigan publishes, this job lands at 446. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Michigan is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $36,710 the take-home is $30,367; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $32,242 would nationally. The average comes to $39,100, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For merchandise displayers and window trimmers, Michigan sits in the lower band at $36,710, ranking 42 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 6.8%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Michigan, this work ranks 446 of 493 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Post-tax income for merchandise displayers and window trimmers in Michigan, on $36,710, is $30,367 — equivalent to $32,242 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 $39,100 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,140 |
| This salary | $36,710 |
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 Michigan | $30,367 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,676 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$355 |
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 | $35,080 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$429 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Michigan earn less than $36,710. The published range is $29,830 up to $47,140, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Michigan's $30,367, worked from $36,710. 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 446 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Michigan, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,242, the adjusted value of that $36,710 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 446 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for merchandise displayers and window trimmers in Michigan the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $29,830 to $47,140. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Michigan take-home of $30,367, on $36,710 for work ranking 446 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 446 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Michigan, so $32,242 — the adjusted value of that $36,710 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 446 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 $39,100, 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 $29,830 and the top tenth $47,140, so most people doing this work in Michigan 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 $32,242.
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; Michigan then takes its own share, leaving $30,367.
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 Michigan is $39,100. 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 ($29,830 to $47,140) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $32,242 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 $30,367 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.