Opticians, Dispensing in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,018
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$7,932
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,396
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
$43,950
Kept after tax
$36,018
Worth in national money
$39,396
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Idaho pays opticians, dispensing a middle wage of $43,950, 35 of 51 states and about 7% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 476 occupations Idaho reports figures for, this is number 351.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $43,950 you keep $36,018 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $39,396 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $49,950, since top earners drag the number up.
- Idaho's $43,950 median for opticians, dispensing places it 35 of 51 states, about 7% 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.
- In Idaho's occupational distribution, opticians, dispensing sits at 351 of 476 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay in Idaho is $36,018 after the full tax stack, from $43,950. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $39,396 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $49,950 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Opticians, Dispensing
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,300 |
| This salary | $43,950 |
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 | $36,018 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,494 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$812 |
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 | $42,113 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$982 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $43,950 as a midpoint for Idaho, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $34,730 and the ninetieth is $75,300 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Idaho's $36,018, worked from $43,950. 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 351 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,396 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 351.
- The Idaho median of $43,950 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $34,730 to $75,300. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Idaho take-home of $36,018, on $43,950 for work ranking 351 of 476 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 351 of 476 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,396, worked from $43,950, 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 351 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $49,950, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $34,730 at the bottom tenth to $75,300 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $39,396 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; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $36,018.
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 Idaho is $49,950. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($34,730) and the ninetieth ($75,300) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
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 $39,396 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 $36,018 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.