Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,563
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$10,867
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,743
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$57,430
Kept after tax
$46,563
Worth in national money
$50,743
State rank
40
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $57,430, ranking 40 of 51 states — about 1.78% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 488 occupations Missouri reports figures for, this is number 243.
- Missouri is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $57,430 the take-home is $46,563; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $50,743 would nationally. The average comes to $58,680, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Missouri ranks 40 of 51 for postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators, with a median of $57,430 — about 1.78% 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.
- In Missouri's occupational distribution, postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators sits at 243 of 488 — 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.
- Post-tax income for postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators in Missouri, on $57,430, is $46,563 — equivalent to $50,743 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $58,680 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Postal Service Mail Sorters, Processors, and Processing Machine Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $42,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,280 |
| This salary | $57,430 |
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 Missouri | $46,563 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,325 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,013 |
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 | $55,237 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,226 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $57,430. The published range is $42,600 up to $75,280, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Missouri's $46,563, worked from $57,430. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 243 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,743 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 243.
- Reported values are medians; for postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $42,600 to $75,280. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Missouri take-home of $46,563, on $57,430 for work ranking 243 of 488 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 243 of 488 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,743, worked from $57,430, 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 Missouri address, on work sitting at 243 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $42,600 at the tenth percentile, $75,280 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Missouri sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $50,743 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Missouri then takes its own share, leaving $46,563.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($42,600 to $75,280) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $50,743 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 $46,563 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.