Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders in Connecticut
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,585
after federal, FICA and Connecticut tax
Tax takes
$6,875
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,426
Connecticut costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Connecticut — 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
$39,460
Kept after tax
$32,585
Worth in national money
$31,426
State rank
36
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Connecticut pays this job a middle wage of $39,460, 36 of 50 states and about 8.7% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Connecticut this is lower-paid work. Of 482 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 424. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $39,460, tax leaves $32,585 — and because Connecticut is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $31,426 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $43,380, since top earners drag the number up.
- Connecticut's $39,460 median for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders places it 36 of 50 states, about 8.7% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Connecticut reports, packaging and filling machine operators and tenders ranks 424 of 482, 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.
- After tax, $32,585 remains from the Connecticut median of $39,460 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $31,426 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $43,380 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,150 |
| This salary | $39,460 |
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 Connecticut | $32,585 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,886 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,445 |
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 | $37,841 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,167 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
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 packaging and filling machine operators and tenders in Connecticut earn under $39,460 and half over. The published range runs $35,060 at the tenth percentile to $61,150 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 Connecticut's $32,585, worked from $39,460. 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 424 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,426 uses one figure for the whole of Connecticut. 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 424.
- Figures are distribution medians for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders in Connecticut, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,060 to $61,150; 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 Connecticut take-home of $32,585, on $39,460 for work ranking 424 of 482 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 424 of 482 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,426, worked from $39,460, 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 Connecticut address, on work sitting at 424 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $43,380, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,060 at the bottom tenth to $61,150 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Connecticut costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $31,426 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; Connecticut then takes its own share, leaving $32,585.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 Connecticut is $43,380. 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 ($35,060 to $61,150) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Connecticut rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Connecticut's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $31,426 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 $32,585 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Connecticut 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.