Packers and Packagers, Hand in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,654
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$6,206
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,523
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$35,860
Kept after tax
$29,654
Worth in national money
$28,523
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland sits in the middle of the pack for packers and packagers, hand. The median is $35,860, ranking 31 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Maryland, this one sits low: 470 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $35,860, tax leaves $29,654 — and because Maryland is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $28,523 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $38,030, since top earners drag the number up.
- Maryland occupies the middle band for packers and packagers, hand: a median of $35,860, ranking 31 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Packers and packagers, hand occupies position 470 of 489 in Maryland'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.
- After tax, $29,654 remains from the Maryland median of $35,860 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $28,523 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $38,030 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Packers and Packagers, Hand
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $31,390 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,340 |
| This salary | $35,860 |
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 Maryland | $29,654 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,994 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,372 |
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 | $34,193 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,078 |
| 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 packers and packagers, hand in Maryland earn under $35,860 and half over. The published range runs $31,390 at the tenth percentile to $47,340 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Maryland the take-home figure of $29,654, from $35,860, 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 470 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,523 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 470.
- Figures are distribution medians for packers and packagers, hand in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $31,390 to $47,340; 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.
- Take-home for Maryland is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $29,654 from $35,860. 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 470 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,523, worked from $35,860, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 470 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $38,030, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,390 at the bottom tenth to $47,340 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $28,523 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Maryland's own levy, $29,654 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Maryland is $38,030. 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 ($31,390 to $47,340) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $28,523 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 $29,654 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.