Postmasters and Mail Superintendents in Washington
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,965
after federal, FICA and Washington tax
Tax takes
$19,465
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,974
Washington costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Washington — 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
$95,430
Kept after tax
$75,965
Worth in national money
$69,974
State rank
29
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Washington is 29 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $95,430. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 142 among 493 occupations Washington publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $95,430 the take-home is $75,965. But Washington costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $69,974 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $96,520, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Washington ranks 29 of 50 for postmasters and mail superintendents at $95,430. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 142 of 493 in Washington places postmasters and mail superintendents in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Washington income tax is $75,965 for postmasters and mail superintendents, from $95,430. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $69,974. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $96,520 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $78,670 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $116,080 |
| This salary | $95,430 |
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 Washington | $75,965 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $75,965 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,200 |
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 | $95,430 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,326 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 Washington earn under $95,430 and half over. The published range runs $78,670 at the tenth percentile to $116,080 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Washington the take-home figure of $75,965, from $95,430, 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 142 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Washington, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $69,974, the adjusted value of that $95,430 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 142 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for postmasters and mail superintendents in Washington, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $78,670 to $116,080; 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.
- Take-home for Washington is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $75,965 from $95,430. 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 142 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Washington, so $69,974 — the adjusted value of that $95,430 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 142 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $78,670 and the top tenth $116,080, so most people doing this work in Washington sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $69,974 of national purchasing power.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $75,965 of this wage reaches your account, because Washington takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
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 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($78,670 to $116,080) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Washington rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Washington's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $69,974 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Washington levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $75,965 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.