Power Plant Operators in Oregon
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,035
after federal, FICA and Oregon tax
Tax takes
$32,795
29.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$73,563
Oregon costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oregon — 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
$109,830
Kept after tax
$77,035
Worth in national money
$73,563
State rank
9
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Oregon is one of the better-paying states for power plant operators. The middle earner takes $109,830, which ranks 9 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 7.63% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations Oregon reports, power plant operators comes in at 63 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $109,830 the take-home is $77,035. But Oregon costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $73,563 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $113,120, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Oregon ranks 9 of 49 states publishing a median for power plant operators, at $109,830 — about 7.63% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Power plant operators ranks 63 of 489 occupations by median in Oregon, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Oregon income tax is $77,035 for power plant operators, from $109,830. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $73,563. ⚠️ 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 $113,120 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Power Plant Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $76,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $109,830 |
| Top tenth earn over | $145,110 |
| This salary | $109,830 |
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 Oregon | $77,035 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $86,095 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$15,036 |
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 | $96,952 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$20,769 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 105 |
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 power plant operators in Oregon earn under $109,830 and half over. The published range runs $76,740 at the tenth percentile to $145,110 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Oregon's $77,035, worked from $109,830. 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 63 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $73,563 uses one figure for the whole of Oregon. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 63.
- Figures are distribution medians for power plant operators in Oregon, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $76,740 to $145,110; 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.
- The Oregon take-home of $77,035, on $109,830 for work ranking 63 of 489 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 63 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $73,563, worked from $109,830, 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 Oregon address, on work sitting at 63 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $76,740 at the bottom tenth to $145,110 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Oregon run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $73,563 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Oregon's own levy, $77,035 remains.
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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($76,740 to $145,110) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oregon rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Oregon's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $73,563 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 $77,035 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oregon 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.