Orderlies in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,683
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$5,697
15.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,337
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$37,380
Kept after tax
$31,683
Worth in national money
$31,337
State rank
29
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arizona is 29 of 47 states for orderlies, with a middle wage of $37,380. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Arizona this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, orderlies ranks 452. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $37,380, take-home of $31,683 is worth roughly $31,337 in national money. The average comes to $38,770, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arizona ranks 29 of 47 for orderlies at $37,380. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Arizona reports, orderlies ranks 452 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for orderlies, whose median is $37,380, the adjusted figure of $31,337 differs little from $31,683 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $38,770 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Orderlies
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $34,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,360 |
| This salary | $37,380 |
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 Arizona | $31,683 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,215 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,815 |
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 | $36,718 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,195 |
| 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 orderlies in Arizona earn under $37,380 and half over. The published range runs $34,350 at the tenth percentile to $46,360 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $31,683 take-home in Arizona comes from $37,380. 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 452 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,337 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 452.
- Figures are distribution medians for orderlies in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $34,350 to $46,360; 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 $31,683, from $37,380, assumes a single Arizona 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 452 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 29 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,337, worked from $37,380, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 452 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $38,770, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $34,350 at the tenth percentile, $46,360 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Arizona costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $31,337 rather than its face figure.
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; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $31,683.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Arizona is $38,770. 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 ($34,350 to $46,360) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $31,337 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 $31,683 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.