Opticians, Dispensing in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,908
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$8,492
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,367
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$47,400
Kept after tax
$38,908
Worth in national money
$38,367
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Rhode Island is 23 of 51 states for opticians, dispensing, with a middle wage of $47,400. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 452 occupations Rhode Island reports figures for, this is number 338.
- No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $47,400, take-home of $38,908 is worth roughly $38,367 in national money. The average comes to $54,140, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Rhode Island ranks 23 of 51 for opticians, dispensing at $47,400. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Rhode Island's occupational distribution, opticians, dispensing sits at 338 of 452 — 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.
- Price parity in Rhode Island is near the national base, so for opticians, dispensing, whose median is $47,400, the adjusted figure of $38,367 differs little from $38,908 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $54,140 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 | $38,480 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,130 |
| This salary | $47,400 |
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 Rhode Island | $38,908 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,266 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,070 |
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 | $45,711 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,713 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 Rhode Island earn under $47,400 and half over. The published range runs $38,480 at the tenth percentile to $77,130 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Rhode Island's $38,908, worked from $47,400. 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 338 of 452.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $38,367 uses one figure for the whole of Rhode Island. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 452 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 338.
- Figures are distribution medians for opticians, dispensing in Rhode Island, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,480 to $77,130; 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.
- The Rhode Island take-home of $38,908, on $47,400 for work ranking 338 of 452 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 338 of 452 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,367, worked from $47,400, 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 Rhode Island address, on work sitting at 338 of 452 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 $54,140 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $38,480, the highest tenth $77,130, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Rhode Island run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $38,367 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Rhode Island then takes its own share, leaving $38,908.
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 Rhode Island is $54,140. 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 ($38,480) and the ninetieth ($77,130) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $38,367 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,908 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.