Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,806
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$10,294
19.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,467
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$52,100
Kept after tax
$41,806
Worth in national money
$46,467
State rank
10
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Alabama pays this job a middle wage of $52,100, ranking 10 of 51 states and sitting about 40.13% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Alabama reports figures for, this is number 236.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $52,100 you keep $41,806, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $46,467 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $47,700, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Alabama's median for motor vehicle operators, all other is $52,100, about 40.13% above the national figure and 10 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Alabama's occupational distribution, motor vehicle operators, all other sits at 236 of 482 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for motor vehicle operators, all other on $52,100 is $41,806. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $46,467 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 $47,700 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Motor Vehicle Operators, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $62,840 |
| This salary | $52,100 |
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 Alabama | $41,806 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,042 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,144 |
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 | $49,317 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,383 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of motor vehicle operators, all other in Alabama earn under $52,100 and half over. The published range runs $29,540 at the tenth percentile to $62,840 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $41,806, worked from $52,100. 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 236 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,467 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 236.
- Figures are distribution medians for motor vehicle operators, all other in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,540 to $62,840; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Alabama take-home of $41,806, on $52,100 for work ranking 236 of 482 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 236 of 482 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,467, worked from $52,100, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 236 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $47,700 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $29,540 at the tenth percentile, $62,840 at the ninetieth.
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 $46,467.
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 Alabama's own levy, $41,806 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Alabama is $47,700. 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 ($29,540 to $62,840) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $46,467 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 $41,806 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.