Ophthalmic Medical Technicians in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,397
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$9,673
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,856
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$50,070
Kept after tax
$40,397
Worth in national money
$38,856
State rank
7
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is one of the better-paying states for ophthalmic medical technicians. The middle earner takes $50,070, which ranks 7 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 9.87% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Ophthalmic medical technicians ranks 331 among 489 occupations Maryland publishes pay for.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $50,070, tax leaves $40,397 — and because Maryland is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $38,856 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $52,580, since top earners drag the number up.
- Maryland ranks 7 of 51 states publishing a median for ophthalmic medical technicians, at $50,070 — about 9.87% 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.
- Position 331 of 489 in Maryland places ophthalmic medical technicians in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After tax, $40,397 remains from the Maryland median of $50,070 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $38,856 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $52,580 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 | $39,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $66,820 |
| This salary | $50,070 |
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 Maryland | $40,397 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,411 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,788 |
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 | $47,563 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,791 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $50,070 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,460 and the ninetieth is $66,820 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Maryland the take-home figure of $40,397, from $50,070, 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 331 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $38,856 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 331.
- The Maryland median of $50,070 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,460 to $66,820. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Maryland is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $40,397 from $50,070. 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 331 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,856, worked from $50,070, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 331 of 489 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 $52,580 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $39,460 at the bottom tenth to $66,820 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $38,856 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Maryland adds its own income tax on top — which is why $40,397 of this wage survives to your account.
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 Maryland is $52,580. 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 ($39,460 to $66,820) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $38,856 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $40,397 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.