Motorcycle Mechanics in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,947
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$7,153
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,981
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
$40,100
Kept after tax
$32,947
Worth in national money
$34,981
State rank
43
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Michigan pays motorcycle mechanics a middle wage of $40,100, 43 of 45 states and about 17.46% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Michigan this is lower-paid work. Of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, motorcycle mechanics ranks 406. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $40,100 you keep $32,947 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $34,981 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $42,060, since top earners drag the number up.
- Michigan's $40,100 median for motorcycle mechanics places it 43 of 45 states, about 17.46% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Michigan reports, motorcycle mechanics ranks 406 of 493, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Retained pay in Michigan is $32,947 after the full tax stack, from $40,100. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,981 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $42,060 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Motorcycle Mechanics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $25,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,960 |
| This salary | $40,100 |
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 Michigan | $32,947 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,400 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$419 |
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 | $38,291 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$507 |
| 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 $40,100. The published range is $25,960 up to $63,960, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $32,947 take-home in Michigan comes from $40,100. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 406 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,981 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 406.
- Reported values are medians; for motorcycle mechanics in Michigan the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $25,960 to $63,960. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $32,947, from $40,100, assumes a single Michigan filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 406 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 43 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,981, worked from $40,100, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 406 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 $42,060, 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 $25,960, the highest tenth $63,960, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Michigan is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $34,981 in national terms.
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 Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $32,947 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $42,060. 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 ($25,960) and the ninetieth ($63,960) 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.
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 $34,981 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 $32,947 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.
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.