Phlebotomists in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,127
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$8,253
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,596
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$46,380
Kept after tax
$38,127
Worth in national money
$37,596
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Rhode Island pays phlebotomists a middle wage of $46,380, ranking 14 of 51 states and sitting about 2.54% above the national middle.
- Within Rhode Island this is lower-paid work. Of 452 occupations the state publishes figures for, phlebotomists ranks 349. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $46,380 the take-home is $38,127, which is worth about $37,596 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $47,290, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Rhode Island's median for phlebotomists is $46,380, about 2.54% above the national figure and 14 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Against every occupation Rhode Island reports, phlebotomists ranks 349 of 452, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Rhode Island's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for phlebotomists on its $46,380 median: $38,127 retained after tax becomes $37,596 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $47,290 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 | $36,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,290 |
| This salary | $46,380 |
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 Rhode Island | $38,127 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,446 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,997 |
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 | $44,738 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,624 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,380 as a midpoint for Rhode Island, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,830 and the ninetieth is $58,290 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Rhode Island the take-home figure of $38,127, from $46,380, 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 349 of 452 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Rhode Island, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $37,596, the adjusted value of that $46,380 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 349 of 452 in the state.
- The Rhode Island median of $46,380 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,830 to $58,290. 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 Rhode Island is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,127 from $46,380. 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 349 of 452 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Rhode Island, so $37,596 — the adjusted value of that $46,380 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 349 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,830 and the top tenth $58,290, so most people doing this work in Rhode Island sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Rhode Island costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $37,596 rather than its face figure.
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; Rhode Island then takes its own share, leaving $38,127.
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 ($36,830 to $58,290) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Rhode Island rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $37,596 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $38,127 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.