Phlebotomists in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,855
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$6,685
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,354
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$39,540
Kept after tax
$32,855
Worth in national money
$36,354
State rank
39
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Nebraska is among the lower-paying states for phlebotomists. The middle earner takes $39,540, ranking 39 of 51 states — about 12.58% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Nebraska, this one sits low: 408 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $39,540 you keep $32,855, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $36,354 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $41,480, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Nebraska ranks 39 of 51 for phlebotomists, with a median of $39,540 — about 12.58% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Phlebotomists occupies position 408 of 488 in Nebraska'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 federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for phlebotomists on $39,540 is $32,855. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $36,354 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 $41,480 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Phlebotomists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,660 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $48,900 |
| This salary | $39,540 |
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 Nebraska | $32,855 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,950 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,416 |
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 | $38,177 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,713 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 phlebotomists in Nebraska earn under $39,540 and half over. The published range runs $35,660 at the tenth percentile to $48,900 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $32,855 take-home in Nebraska comes from $39,540. 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 408 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Nebraska, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $36,354, the adjusted value of that $39,540 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 408 of 488 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for phlebotomists in Nebraska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,660 to $48,900; 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.
- Retained pay of $32,855, from $39,540, assumes a single Nebraska 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 408 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 39 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Nebraska, so $36,354 — the adjusted value of that $39,540 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 408 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $41,480, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,660 at the tenth percentile, $48,900 at the ninetieth.
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 $36,354.
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 Nebraska adds its own income tax on top — which is why $32,855 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 Nebraska is $41,480. 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 ($35,660 to $48,900) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $36,354 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 $32,855 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.