Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,961
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$6,369
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,516
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
$38,330
Kept after tax
$31,961
Worth in national money
$31,516
State rank
43
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Rhode Island is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $38,330, ranking 43 of 50 states — about 11.31% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Rhode Island, this one sits low: 398 of 452 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $38,330 the take-home is $31,961, which is worth about $31,516 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $47,490, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Rhode Island ranks 43 of 50 for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders, with a median of $38,330 — about 11.31% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders occupies position 398 of 452 in Rhode Island's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Rhode Island's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders on its $38,330 median: $31,961 retained after tax becomes $31,516 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $47,490 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,220 |
| This salary | $38,330 |
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 | $31,961 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,978 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,421 |
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 | $37,064 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,928 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Rhode Island earn less than $38,330. The published range is $32,770 up to $79,220, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $31,961 take-home in Rhode Island comes from $38,330. 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 398 of 452.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $31,516 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 398.
- Reported values are medians; for packaging and filling machine operators and tenders in Rhode Island the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $32,770 to $79,220. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $31,961, from $38,330, assumes a single Rhode Island 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 398 of 452 locally, and the state ranks 43 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,516, worked from $38,330, 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 398 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 $47,490 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $32,770 and the top tenth $79,220 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $31,516 — 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 $31,961.
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 Rhode Island is $47,490. 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 ($32,770) and the ninetieth ($79,220) 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 $31,516 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 $31,961 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.
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.