Power Plant Operators in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,503
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$23,547
24.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$73,466
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$98,050
Kept after tax
$74,503
Worth in national money
$73,466
State rank
32
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Rhode Island is 32 of 49 states for power plant operators, with a middle wage of $98,050. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Rhode Island. It ranks 93 out of 452 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $98,050, take-home of $74,503 is worth roughly $73,466 in national money. The average comes to $102,280, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Rhode Island ranks 32 of 49 for power plant operators at $98,050. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Rhode Island, power plant operators ranks 93 of 452 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.
- Price parity in Rhode Island is near the national base, so for power plant operators, whose median is $98,050, the adjusted figure of $73,466 differs little from $74,503 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $102,280 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Power Plant Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $69,570 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $134,120 |
| This salary | $98,050 |
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 Rhode Island | $74,503 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,808 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,604 |
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 | $93,352 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,122 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Rhode Island earn less than $98,050. The published range is $69,570 up to $134,120, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $74,503 take-home in Rhode Island comes from $98,050. 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 93 of 452.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $73,466 uses one figure for the whole of Rhode Island. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 452 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 93.
- Reported values are medians; for power plant operators in Rhode Island the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $69,570 to $134,120. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $74,503, from $98,050, assumes a single Rhode Island 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 93 of 452 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $73,466, worked from $98,050, 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 Rhode Island address, on work sitting at 93 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $102,280, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $69,570 and the top tenth $134,120, so most people doing this work in Rhode Island 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 $73,466 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; Rhode Island then takes its own share, leaving $74,503.
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 Rhode Island is $102,280. 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 ($69,570 to $134,120) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Rhode Island rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $73,466 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 $74,503 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.