Prepress Technicians and Workers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,812
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$6,018
15.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,453
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$38,830
Kept after tax
$32,812
Worth in national money
$32,453
State rank
41
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for prepress technicians and workers is on the low side in Arizona. The middle earner gets $38,830. That is 41 of 45 states, and about 20.25% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 491 occupations Arizona publishes, prepress technicians and workers lands at 436. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $38,830, take-home of $32,812 is worth roughly $32,453 in national money. The average comes to $46,360, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For prepress technicians and workers, Arizona sits in the lower band at $38,830, ranking 41 of 45 and trailing the national median by about 20.25%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Arizona, this work ranks 436 of 491 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for prepress technicians and workers, whose median is $38,830, the adjusted figure of $32,453 differs little from $32,812 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $46,360 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Prepress Technicians and Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,830 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,900 |
| This salary | $38,830 |
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 Arizona | $32,812 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,380 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,897 |
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 | $38,123 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,295 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 prepress technicians and workers in Arizona earn under $38,830 and half over. The published range runs $35,460 at the tenth percentile to $65,900 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $32,812 take-home in Arizona comes from $38,830. 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 436 of 491.
- Two cautions on $32,453, the adjusted value of that $38,830 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Arizona. 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 436 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for prepress technicians and workers in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,460 to $65,900; 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 $32,812, from $38,830, assumes a single Arizona 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 436 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 41 of 45 for it.
- This $32,453 adjusted figure, worked from $38,830, 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 436 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 436 of 491 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 $46,360, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $35,460 at the bottom tenth to $65,900 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Arizona costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $32,453 rather than its face figure.
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; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $32,812.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 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 Arizona is $46,360. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($35,460) and the ninetieth ($65,900) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $32,453 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 $32,812 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.