Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,759
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$8,411
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,111
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$45,170
Kept after tax
$36,759
Worth in national money
$42,111
State rank
51
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for payroll and timekeeping clerks is on the low side in Mississippi. The middle earner gets $45,170. That is 51 of 51 states, and about 22.47% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 486 occupations Mississippi reports figures for, this is number 285.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $45,170 you keep $36,759 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $42,111 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $47,680, since top earners drag the number up.
- For payroll and timekeeping clerks, Mississippi sits in the lower band at $45,170, ranking 51 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 22.47%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Mississippi's occupational distribution, payroll and timekeeping clerks sits at 285 of 486 — 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.
- Retained pay in Mississippi is $36,759 after the full tax stack, from $45,170. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $42,111 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $47,680 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,560 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $66,930 |
| This salary | $45,170 |
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 Mississippi | $36,759 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,474 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,518 |
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 | $43,036 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,045 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Mississippi earn less than $45,170. The published range is $30,560 up to $66,930, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Mississippi the take-home figure of $36,759, from $45,170, 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 285 of 486 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,111 uses one figure for the whole of Mississippi. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 486 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 285.
- Reported values are medians; for payroll and timekeeping clerks in Mississippi the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,560 to $66,930. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Mississippi is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,759 from $45,170. 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 285 of 486 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,111, worked from $45,170, 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 Mississippi address, on work sitting at 285 of 486 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 $47,680 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?
The label is broader than the work. From $30,560 at the bottom tenth to $66,930 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Mississippi is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $42,111 in national terms.
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; Mississippi then takes its own share, leaving $36,759.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Mississippi is $47,680. 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 ($30,560) and the ninetieth ($66,930) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi'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 $42,111 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 $36,759 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.