Opticians, Dispensing in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,432
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$6,318
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,343
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
$38,750
Kept after tax
$32,432
Worth in national money
$35,343
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri is among the lower-paying states for opticians, dispensing. The middle earner takes $38,750, ranking 45 of 51 states — about 18.01% 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: 406 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $38,750 you keep $32,432, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $35,343 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $43,900, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Missouri ranks 45 of 51 for opticians, dispensing, with a median of $38,750 — about 18.01% 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.
- Opticians, dispensing occupies position 406 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.
- After federal, FICA and Missouri income tax, retained pay for opticians, dispensing on $38,750 is $32,432. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $35,343 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $43,900 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Opticians, Dispensing
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,750 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,810 |
| This salary | $38,750 |
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 | $32,432 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,316 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,059 |
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 | $37,650 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,281 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 opticians, dispensing in Missouri earn under $38,750 and half over. The published range runs $34,110 at the tenth percentile to $54,810 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $32,432 take-home in Missouri comes from $38,750. 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 406 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,343 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 406.
- Figures are distribution medians for opticians, dispensing in Missouri, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,110 to $54,810; 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 $32,432, from $38,750, 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 406 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 45 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,343, worked from $38,750, 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 406 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $43,900, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $34,110 at the bottom tenth to $54,810 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Missouri sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $35,343 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Missouri adds its own income tax on top — which is why $32,432 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 Missouri is $43,900. 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 ($34,110 to $54,810) 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 $35,343 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 $32,432 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.