Painters, Construction and Maintenance in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,458
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$9,662
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,547
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$52,120
Kept after tax
$42,458
Worth in national money
$43,547
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 20 of 51 states for painters, construction and maintenance, with a middle wage of $52,120. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports figures for, this is number 291.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $52,120, take-home of $42,458 is worth roughly $43,547 in national money. The average comes to $54,230, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 20 of 51 for painters, construction and maintenance at $52,120. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Pennsylvania's occupational distribution, painters, construction and maintenance sits at 291 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for painters, construction and maintenance, whose median is $52,120, the adjusted figure of $43,547 differs little from $42,458 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $54,230 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Painters, Construction and Maintenance
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,230 |
| This salary | $52,120 |
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 Pennsylvania | $42,458 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,058 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,792 |
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 | $50,129 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,168 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $52,120 as a midpoint for Pennsylvania, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $37,250 and the ninetieth is $72,230 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Pennsylvania's $42,458, worked from $52,120. 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 291 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $43,547 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 291.
- The Pennsylvania median of $52,120 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $37,250 to $72,230. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Pennsylvania take-home of $42,458, on $52,120 for work ranking 291 of 492 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 291 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $43,547, worked from $52,120, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 291 of 492 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 $54,230 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,250 and the top tenth $72,230, so most people doing this work in Pennsylvania sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $43,547 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Pennsylvania's own levy, $42,458 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 Pennsylvania is $54,230. 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 ($37,250 to $72,230) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $43,547 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 $42,458 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.