Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,692
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$10,528
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,390
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$54,220
Kept after tax
$43,692
Worth in national money
$46,390
State rank
27
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Michigan is 27 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $54,220. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Michigan reports figures for, this is number 275.
- Here is where Michigan does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $54,220 you keep $43,692, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $46,390 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $54,880, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Michigan ranks 27 of 50 for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators at $54,220. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Michigan's occupational distribution, paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators sits at 275 of 493 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Michigan income tax, retained pay for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators on $54,220 is $43,692. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $46,390 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 $54,880 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,510 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $54,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,360 |
| This salary | $54,220 |
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 Michigan | $43,692 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,746 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$685 |
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 | $51,664 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$829 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Michigan earn less than $54,220. The published range is $38,510 up to $74,360, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $43,692 take-home in Michigan comes from $54,220. 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 275 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,390 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 275.
- Reported values are medians; for paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators in Michigan the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,510 to $74,360. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $43,692, from $54,220, assumes a single Michigan 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 275 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 27 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,390, worked from $54,220, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 275 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $38,510 and the top tenth $74,360, so most people doing this work in Michigan sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $46,390.
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 Michigan's own levy, $43,692 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($38,510 to $74,360) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $46,390 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 $43,692 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.