Office Machine Operators, Except Computer in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,720
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$5,920
17.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,901
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$34,640
Kept after tax
$28,720
Worth in national money
$32,901
State rank
44
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Mississippi pays this job a middle wage of $34,640, 44 of 47 states and about 15.43% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Mississippi this is lower-paid work. Of 486 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 414. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Mississippi does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $34,640 you keep $28,720, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $32,901 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $36,700, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Mississippi's $34,640 median for office machine operators, except computer places it 44 of 47 states, about 15.43% 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 Mississippi reports, office machine operators, except computer ranks 414 of 486, 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.
- After federal, FICA and Mississippi income tax, retained pay for office machine operators, except computer on $34,640 is $28,720. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $32,901 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 $36,700 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Office Machine Operators, Except Computer
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,640 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,810 |
| This salary | $34,640 |
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 Mississippi | $28,720 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,013 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,015 |
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 | $33,030 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,437 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
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 office machine operators, except computer in Mississippi earn under $34,640 and half over. The published range runs $28,580 at the tenth percentile to $44,810 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 Mississippi's $28,720, worked from $34,640. 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 414 of 486.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,901 uses one figure for the whole of Mississippi. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 486 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 414.
- Figures are distribution medians for office machine operators, except computer in Mississippi, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,580 to $44,810; 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 Mississippi take-home of $28,720, on $34,640 for work ranking 414 of 486 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 414 of 486 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,901, worked from $34,640, 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 Mississippi address, on work sitting at 414 of 486 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 $36,700, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,580 at the bottom tenth to $44,810 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Mississippi is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $32,901 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; Mississippi then takes its own share, leaving $28,720.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 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 Mississippi is $36,700. 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 ($28,580 to $44,810) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi'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 $32,901 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 $28,720 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.