Opticians, Dispensing in Ohio
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,084
after federal, FICA and Ohio tax
Tax takes
$8,416
16.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,838
Ohio costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Ohio — 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
$50,500
Kept after tax
$42,084
Worth in national money
$45,838
State rank
13
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Ohio is one of the better-paying states for opticians, dispensing. The middle earner takes $50,500, which ranks 13 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 6.86% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Ohio reports figures for, this is number 287.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $50,500 you keep $42,084 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $45,838 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $51,200, since top earners drag the number up.
- Ohio ranks 13 of 51 states publishing a median for opticians, dispensing, at $50,500 — about 6.86% 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.
- In Ohio's occupational distribution, opticians, dispensing sits at 287 of 494 — 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 Ohio is $42,084 after the full tax stack, from $50,500. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $45,838 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $51,200 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 | $35,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $50,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,280 |
| This salary | $50,500 |
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 Ohio | $42,084 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,757 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,838 |
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 | $49,663 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,223 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $50,500 as a midpoint for Ohio, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,830 and the ninetieth is $65,280 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $42,084 take-home in Ohio comes from $50,500. 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 287 of 494.
- Two cautions on $45,838, the adjusted value of that $50,500 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Ohio. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 287 of 494 locally.
- The Ohio median of $50,500 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,830 to $65,280. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $42,084, from $50,500, assumes a single Ohio 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 287 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 13 of 51 for it.
- This $45,838 adjusted figure, worked from $50,500, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 287 of 494 in the state. The occupation ranks 287 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,830 at the bottom tenth to $65,280 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $45,838.
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 Ohio's own levy, $42,084 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($35,830 to $65,280) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Ohio rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Ohio'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 $45,838 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 $42,084 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Ohio 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.