Miscellaneous Construction and Related Workers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,259
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$11,631
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,754
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$60,890
Kept after tax
$49,259
Worth in national money
$43,754
State rank
9
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. California's middle earner gets $60,890, putting the state 9 of 45 — about 22% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations California reports figures for, this is number 290.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $60,890 the take-home is $49,259. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $43,754 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $70,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For miscellaneous construction and related workers, California sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $60,890, ranking 9 of 45 and running about 22% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In California's occupational distribution, miscellaneous construction and related workers sits at 290 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $49,259 for miscellaneous construction and related workers, from $60,890. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,754. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $70,000 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Miscellaneous Construction and Related Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $110,450 |
| This salary | $60,890 |
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 California | $49,259 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,105 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,836 |
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 | $58,593 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,687 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $60,890 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,100 and the ninetieth is $110,450 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind California's $49,259, worked from $60,890. 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 290 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,754 uses one figure for the whole of California. 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 290.
- The California median of $60,890 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,100 to $110,450. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The California take-home of $49,259, on $60,890 for work ranking 290 of 492 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 290 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,754, worked from $60,890, 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 California address, on work sitting at 290 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 $70,000, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $44,100, the highest tenth $110,450, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $43,754 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $49,259 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 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 California is $70,000. 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 ($44,100) and the ninetieth ($110,450) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $43,754 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 $49,259 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.