Motorcycle Mechanics in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,397
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$10,643
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,212
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
$57,040
Kept after tax
$46,397
Worth in national money
$41,212
State rank
7
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for motorcycle mechanics. The middle earner takes $57,040, which ranks 7 of 45 states with published figures. That is about 17.41% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Motorcycle mechanics ranks 324 among 492 occupations California publishes pay for.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $57,040, tax leaves $46,397 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $41,212 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $57,280, since top earners drag the number up.
- California ranks 7 of 45 states publishing a median for motorcycle mechanics, at $57,040 — about 17.41% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 324 of 492 in California places motorcycle mechanics in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After tax, $46,397 remains from the California median of $57,040 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $41,212 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $57,280 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Motorcycle Mechanics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,040 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,070 |
| This salary | $57,040 |
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 California | $46,397 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,012 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,196 |
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 | $55,030 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,912 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $57,040. The published range is $36,910 up to $76,070, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In California the take-home figure of $46,397, from $57,040, 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 324 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $41,212, the adjusted value of that $57,040 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 324 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for motorcycle mechanics in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,910 to $76,070. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $46,397 from $57,040. 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 324 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $41,212 — the adjusted value of that $57,040 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 324 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $36,910 at the bottom tenth to $76,070 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $41,212 of national purchasing power.
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 $46,397 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,910 to $76,070) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
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 $41,212 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 $46,397 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.