Network and Computer Systems Administrators in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$66,785
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$19,355
22.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,497
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$86,140
Kept after tax
$66,785
Worth in national money
$68,497
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Pennsylvania. The middle earner gets $86,140. That is 35 of 51 states, and about 13.1% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Within Pennsylvania this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 95 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $86,140, tax leaves $66,785, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $68,497 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $92,250, since top earners drag the number up.
- For network and computer systems administrators, Pennsylvania sits in the lower band at $86,140, ranking 35 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 13.1%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Ranked against every occupation Pennsylvania publishes a median for, network and computer systems administrators sits 95 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Because Pennsylvania sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for network and computer systems administrators — median $86,140 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $66,785 retained, $68,497 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $92,250 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Network and Computer Systems Administrators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $86,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $130,160 |
| This salary | $86,140 |
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 Pennsylvania | $66,785 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $69,429 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,950 |
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 | $82,381 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,076 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 network and computer systems administrators in Pennsylvania earn under $86,140 and half over. The published range runs $61,380 at the tenth percentile to $130,160 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $66,785, from $86,140, 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 95 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $68,497, the adjusted value of that $86,140 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 95 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for network and computer systems administrators in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $61,380 to $130,160; 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.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $66,785 from $86,140. 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 95 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $68,497 — the adjusted value of that $86,140 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 95 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $92,250, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $61,380 and the top tenth $130,160 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Pennsylvania is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $68,497 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $66,785.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 Pennsylvania is $92,250. 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 ($61,380) and the ninetieth ($130,160) 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?
Pennsylvania'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 $68,497 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 $66,785 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.