Paramedics in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,887
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$11,293
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,186
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$59,180
Kept after tax
$47,887
Worth in national money
$52,186
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Missouri pays paramedics around $59,180 at the midpoint, 31 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Paramedics ranks 227 among 488 occupations Missouri publishes pay for.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $59,180 you keep $47,887, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $52,186 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $60,860, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For paramedics the Missouri median is $59,180, ranking 31 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 227 of 488 in Missouri places paramedics in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Missouri income tax, retained pay for paramedics on $59,180 is $47,887. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $52,186 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $60,860 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Paramedics
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,480 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $81,300 |
| This salary | $59,180 |
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 Missouri | $47,887 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,731 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,009 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $56,885 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,221 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $59,180 as a midpoint for Missouri, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $45,480 and the ninetieth is $81,300 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Missouri the take-home figure of $47,887, from $59,180, 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 227 of 488 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,186 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 227.
- The Missouri median of $59,180 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $45,480 to $81,300. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $47,887 from $59,180. 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 227 of 488 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,186, worked from $59,180, 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 Missouri address, on work sitting at 227 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $45,480 at the tenth percentile, $81,300 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Missouri is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $52,186 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Missouri adds its own income tax on top — which is why $47,887 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($45,480 to $81,300) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $52,186 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 $47,887 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.