Opticians, Dispensing in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,246
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$6,634
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,618
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$36,880
Kept after tax
$30,246
Worth in national money
$33,618
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for opticians, dispensing is on the low side in Alabama. The middle earner gets $36,880. That is 49 of 51 states, and about 21.96% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 482 occupations Alabama publishes, opticians, dispensing lands at 389. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $36,880 the take-home is $30,246; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $33,618 would nationally. The average comes to $38,710, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For opticians, dispensing, Alabama sits in the lower band at $36,880, ranking 49 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 21.96%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Alabama, this work ranks 389 of 482 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Post-tax income for opticians, dispensing in Alabama, on $36,880, is $30,246 — equivalent to $33,618 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 $38,710 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Opticians, Dispensing
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,880 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,720 |
| This salary | $36,880 |
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 Alabama | $30,246 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,813 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$880 |
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 | $34,930 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,065 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $36,880. The published range is $31,000 up to $47,720, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $30,246, worked from $36,880. 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 389 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $33,618 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 389.
- Reported values are medians; for opticians, dispensing in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $31,000 to $47,720. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Alabama take-home of $30,246, on $36,880 for work ranking 389 of 482 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 389 of 482 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,618, worked from $36,880, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 389 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $38,710, 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 $31,000 and the top tenth $47,720, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $33,618 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; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $30,246.
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 Alabama is $38,710. 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 ($31,000 to $47,720) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $33,618 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 $30,246 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.