Ophthalmic Medical Technicians in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,597
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$6,693
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,613
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$40,290
Kept after tax
$33,597
Worth in national money
$36,613
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri is among the lower-paying states for ophthalmic medical technicians. The middle earner takes $40,290, ranking 37 of 51 states — about 11.59% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Missouri, this one sits low: 394 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $40,290 you keep $33,597 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $36,613 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $41,620, since top earners drag the number up.
- Missouri ranks 37 of 51 for ophthalmic medical technicians, with a median of $40,290 — about 11.59% 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 394 of 488 in Missouri'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.
- Retained pay in Missouri is $33,597 after the full tax stack, from $40,290. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $36,613 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $41,620 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 | $31,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $40,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,530 |
| This salary | $40,290 |
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 Missouri | $33,597 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,553 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,055 |
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 | $39,100 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,276 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $40,290. The published range is $31,470 up to $50,530, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $33,597 take-home in Missouri comes from $40,290. 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 394 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,613 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 394.
- Reported values are medians; for ophthalmic medical technicians in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,470 to $50,530. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $33,597, from $40,290, assumes a single Missouri 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 394 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 37 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,613, worked from $40,290, 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 Missouri address, on work sitting at 394 of 488 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 $41,620 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 $31,470 and the top tenth $50,530, so most people doing this work in Missouri sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Missouri is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $36,613 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Missouri's own levy, $33,597 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Missouri is $41,620. 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 ($31,470 to $50,530) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $36,613 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 $33,597 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.