Power Plant Operators in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$76,665
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$25,235
24.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$83,547
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
$101,900
Kept after tax
$76,665
Worth in national money
$83,547
State rank
26
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri sits in the middle of the pack for power plant operators. The median is $101,900, ranking 26 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Missouri. It ranks 42 out of 488 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $101,900 you keep $76,665 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $83,547 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $93,560.
- Missouri occupies the middle band for power plant operators: a median of $101,900, ranking 26 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.
- Within Missouri, power plant operators ranks 42 of 488 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Missouri is $76,665 after the full tax stack, from $101,900. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $83,547 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $93,560 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Power Plant Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $101,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $128,430 |
| This salary | $101,900 |
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 | $76,665 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,517 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$690 |
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 | $96,425 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$953 |
| 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 $101,900. The published range is $60,120 up to $128,430, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $76,665 take-home in Missouri comes from $101,900. 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 42 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $83,547 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 42.
- Reported values are medians; for power plant operators in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $60,120 to $128,430. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $76,665, from $101,900, assumes a single Missouri 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 42 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 26 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $83,547, worked from $101,900, 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 42 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $93,560, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $60,120 at the bottom tenth to $128,430 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $83,547 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 $76,665.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Missouri is $93,560. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($60,120 to $128,430) 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 $83,547 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 $76,665 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.
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.