Printing Press Operators in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,019
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$6,931
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,625
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
$42,950
Kept after tax
$36,019
Worth in national money
$35,625
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arizona is 33 of 51 states for printing press operators, with a middle wage of $42,950. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Arizona this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, printing press operators ranks 410. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $42,950, take-home of $36,019 is worth roughly $35,625 in national money. The average comes to $44,830, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arizona ranks 33 of 51 for printing press operators at $42,950. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Arizona reports, printing press operators ranks 410 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for printing press operators, whose median is $42,950, the adjusted figure of $35,625 differs little from $36,019 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $44,830 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Printing Press Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,800 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,700 |
| This salary | $42,950 |
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 | $36,019 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,690 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,132 |
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 | $42,115 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,578 |
| 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 printing press operators in Arizona earn under $42,950 and half over. The published range runs $35,800 at the tenth percentile to $60,700 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $36,019, from $42,950, 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 410 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $35,625 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 410.
- Figures are distribution medians for printing press operators in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,800 to $60,700; 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 Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $36,019 from $42,950. 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 410 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $35,625, worked from $42,950, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 410 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $44,830, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,800 at the bottom tenth to $60,700 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 Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $35,625 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Arizona adds its own income tax on top — which is why $36,019 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 $44,830. 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 ($35,800 to $60,700) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
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 $35,625 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 $36,019 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.