Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,345
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$6,395
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,149
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$37,740
Kept after tax
$31,345
Worth in national money
$32,149
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $37,740, ranking 36 of 51 states — about 4.19% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Pennsylvania, this one sits low: 431 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $37,740, tax leaves $31,345, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $32,149 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $41,070, since top earners drag the number up.
- Pennsylvania ranks 36 of 51 for merchandise displayers and window trimmers, with a median of $37,740 — about 4.19% 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.
- Merchandise displayers and window trimmers occupies position 431 of 492 in Pennsylvania'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 Pennsylvania sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for merchandise displayers and window trimmers — median $37,740 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $31,345 retained, $32,149 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $41,070 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $30,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,740 |
| Top tenth earn over | $55,310 |
| This salary | $37,740 |
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 Pennsylvania | $31,345 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,504 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,300 |
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 | $36,298 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,572 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,740 as a midpoint for Pennsylvania, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,890 and the ninetieth is $55,310 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $31,345, from $37,740, 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 431 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,149 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 431.
- The Pennsylvania median of $37,740 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,890 to $55,310. 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 Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,345 from $37,740. 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 431 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,149, worked from $37,740, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 431 of 492 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 $41,070, 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?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,890 at the tenth percentile, $55,310 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $32,149 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $31,345.
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 Pennsylvania is $41,070. 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 ($30,890 to $55,310) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $32,149 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 $31,345 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.