Photographers in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,286
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$8,574
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,714
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
$45,860
Kept after tax
$37,286
Worth in national money
$42,714
State rank
18
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Mississippi sits in the middle of the pack for photographers. The median is $45,860, ranking 18 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 486 occupations Mississippi reports figures for, this is number 279.
- Here is where Mississippi does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,860 you keep $37,286, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,714 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $45,970, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Mississippi occupies the middle band for photographers: a median of $45,860, ranking 18 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Mississippi's occupational distribution, photographers sits at 279 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.
- After federal, FICA and Mississippi income tax, retained pay for photographers on $45,860 is $37,286. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,714 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 $45,970 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Photographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $24,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,370 |
| This salary | $45,860 |
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 | $37,286 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,029 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,551 |
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 | $43,691 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,085 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $45,860 as a midpoint for Mississippi, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $24,030 and the ninetieth is $65,370 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Mississippi the take-home figure of $37,286, from $45,860, 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 279 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 $42,714 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 279.
- The Mississippi median of $45,860 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $24,030 to $65,370. 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 Mississippi is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,286 from $45,860. 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 279 of 486 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,714, worked from $45,860, 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 279 of 486 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $24,030 at the bottom tenth to $65,370 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $42,714.
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 Mississippi adds its own income tax on top — which is why $37,286 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 49 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($24,030) and the ninetieth ($65,370) 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 $42,714 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 $37,286 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.
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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.