Postmasters and Mail Superintendents in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,674
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$26,476
26.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,329
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$101,150
Kept after tax
$74,674
Worth in national money
$66,329
State rank
2
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. California's middle earner gets $101,150, putting the state 2 of 50 — about 4.65% ahead of the national figure.
- Within California this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 123 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- California is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $101,150 the take-home is $74,674; in national-average money that behaves like $66,329. The average comes to $103,040, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For postmasters and mail superintendents, California sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $101,150, ranking 2 of 50 and running about 4.65% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation California publishes a median for, postmasters and mail superintendents sits 123 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Take-home for postmasters and mail superintendents in California, on $101,150, is $74,674; deflated by the state's price level, $66,329. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $103,040 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Postmasters and Mail Superintendents
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $85,570 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $101,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $122,930 |
| This salary | $101,150 |
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 California | $74,674 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $79,989 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$15,985 |
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 | $93,595 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$22,080 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
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 postmasters and mail superintendents in California earn under $101,150 and half over. The published range runs $85,570 at the tenth percentile to $122,930 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $74,674 take-home in California comes from $101,150. 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 123 of 492.
- Two cautions on $66,329, the adjusted value of that $101,150 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of California. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 123 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for postmasters and mail superintendents in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $85,570 to $122,930; 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 $74,674, from $101,150, assumes a single California 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 123 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 2 of 50 for it.
- This $66,329 adjusted figure, worked from $101,150, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 123 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 123 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $85,570 at the tenth percentile, $122,930 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $66,329 of national purchasing power.
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; California then takes its own share, leaving $74,674.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($85,570 to $122,930) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $66,329 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 $74,674 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.