Orderlies in Alabama

A stethoscope and folded scrubs in a sunlit clinical workspace.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$26,027

after federal, FICA and Alabama tax

Tax takes

$5,283

16.9% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$28,929

Alabama costs less than average

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

$31,310

Kept after tax

$26,027

Worth in national money

$28,929

State rank

45

of 47 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • Pay for orderlies is on the low side in Alabama. The middle earner gets $31,310. That is 45 of 47 states, and about 18.23% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
  • Against 482 occupations Alabama publishes, orderlies lands at 434. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
  • Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $31,310 you keep $26,027 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $28,929 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $31,120.
  • For orderlies, Alabama sits in the lower band at $31,310, ranking 45 of 47 and trailing the national median by about 18.23%. 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 434 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.
  • Retained pay in Alabama is $26,027 after the full tax stack, from $31,310. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,929 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $31,120 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.

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Pay band: Orderlies

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$26,590
Half earn under$31,310
Top tenth earn over$35,270
This salary$31,310

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

Compare with
+$1,310take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Alabama$26,027
Take-home in Texas$27,338
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity−$796

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

Moving to
$0$32,273
$32,273in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$29,679
Raise you would need+$963
Prices in Texas97 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 $31,310. The published range is $26,590 up to $35,270, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
  • In Alabama the take-home figure of $26,027, from $31,310, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 434 of 482 occupations here.
  • The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,929 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 434.
  • Reported values are medians; for orderlies in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $26,590 to $35,270. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
  • Take-home for Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $26,027 from $31,310. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 434 of 482 locally.
  • Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,929, worked from $31,310, 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 434 of 482 locally.

Questions people ask

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $26,590 and the top tenth $35,270, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.

What does this pay actually buy where I live?

More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $28,929 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 Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $26,027 of this wage survives to your account.

Why is this job missing from some states?

Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.

What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?

The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($26,590 to $35,270) 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 $28,929 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 $26,027 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.

Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?

BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.