Ophthalmic Medical Technicians in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,282
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$6,868
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,384
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — 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
$39,150
Kept after tax
$32,282
Worth in national money
$33,384
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Georgia pays ophthalmic medical technicians a middle wage of $39,150, 38 of 51 states and about 14.09% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Georgia this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, ophthalmic medical technicians ranks 408. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $39,150 you keep $32,282 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $33,384 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $42,910, since top earners drag the number up.
- Georgia's $39,150 median for ophthalmic medical technicians places it 38 of 51 states, about 14.09% 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 Georgia reports, ophthalmic medical technicians ranks 408 of 492, 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 Georgia is $32,282 after the full tax stack, from $39,150. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $33,384 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $42,910 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Ophthalmic Medical Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,180 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,010 |
| This salary | $39,150 |
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 Georgia | $32,282 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,637 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,231 |
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 | $37,464 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,488 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Georgia earn less than $39,150. The published range is $34,180 up to $60,010, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Georgia the take-home figure of $32,282, from $39,150, 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 408 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $33,384 uses one figure for the whole of Georgia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 408.
- Reported values are medians; for ophthalmic medical technicians in Georgia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $34,180 to $60,010. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Georgia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $32,282 from $39,150. 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 408 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,384, worked from $39,150, 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 Georgia address, on work sitting at 408 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $42,910 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,180 and the top tenth $60,010, so most people doing this work in Georgia sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $33,384.
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; Georgia then takes its own share, leaving $32,282.
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 Georgia is $42,910. 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 ($34,180 to $60,010) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Georgia rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia'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 $33,384 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 $32,282 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia 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.