Ophthalmic Medical Technicians in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,762
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$6,518
17.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,742
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$38,280
Kept after tax
$31,762
Worth in national money
$34,742
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is among the lower-paying states for ophthalmic medical technicians. The middle earner takes $38,280, ranking 43 of 51 states — about 16% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Idaho, this one sits low: 407 of 476 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Idaho is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $38,280 the take-home is $31,762; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $34,742 would nationally. The average comes to $40,420, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Idaho ranks 43 of 51 for ophthalmic medical technicians, with a median of $38,280 — about 16% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Ophthalmic medical technicians occupies position 407 of 476 in Idaho's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for ophthalmic medical technicians in Idaho, on $38,280, is $31,762 — equivalent to $34,742 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $40,420 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Ophthalmic Medical Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,280 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,440 |
| This salary | $38,280 |
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 Idaho | $31,762 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,938 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$846 |
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 | $36,817 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,023 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
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 ophthalmic medical technicians in Idaho earn under $38,280 and half over. The published range runs $34,760 at the tenth percentile to $49,440 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $31,762 take-home in Idaho comes from $38,280. 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 407 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $34,742 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 407.
- Figures are distribution medians for ophthalmic medical technicians in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,760 to $49,440; 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.
- Retained pay of $31,762, from $38,280, assumes a single Idaho 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 407 of 476 locally, and the state ranks 43 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $34,742, worked from $38,280, 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 Idaho address, on work sitting at 407 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $40,420, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $34,760 and the top tenth $49,440, so most people doing this work in Idaho sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Idaho is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $34,742 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 Idaho adds its own income tax on top — which is why $31,762 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 Idaho is $40,420. 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 ($34,760 to $49,440) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $34,742 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 $31,762 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.