Motorcycle Mechanics in Washington

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,938
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$8,032
15.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,473
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$51,970
Kept after tax
$43,938
Worth in national money
$40,473
State rank
13
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Washington is one of the better-paying states for motorcycle mechanics. The middle earner takes $51,970, which ranks 13 of 45 states with published figures. That is about 6.98% above the national middle.
- Against 493 occupations Washington publishes, motorcycle mechanics lands at 371. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $51,970 the take-home is $43,938. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $40,473 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $57,250, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington ranks 13 of 45 states publishing a median for motorcycle mechanics, at $51,970 — about 6.98% 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.
- Within Washington, this work ranks 371 of 493 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $43,938 for motorcycle mechanics, from $51,970. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $40,473. ⚠️ 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 $57,250 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Motorcycle Mechanics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $84,630 |
| This salary | $51,970 |
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 Washington | $43,938 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,938 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,743 |
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 | $51,970 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,736 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $51,970 as a midpoint for Washington, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $38,760 and the ninetieth is $84,630 — 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 Washington's $43,938, worked from $51,970. 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 371 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $40,473 uses one figure for the whole of Washington. 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 371.
- The Washington median of $51,970 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $38,760 to $84,630. 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 Washington take-home of $43,938, on $51,970 for work ranking 371 of 493 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 371 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $40,473, worked from $51,970, 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 Washington address, on work sitting at 371 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $57,250, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $38,760 at the bottom tenth to $84,630 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $40,473 of national purchasing power.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $43,938 survives, because Washington levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
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 Washington is $57,250. 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 ($38,760) and the ninetieth ($84,630) 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?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $40,473 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $43,938 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.