Protective Service Workers, All Other in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$28,703
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$5,618
16.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,438
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$34,320
Kept after tax
$28,703
Worth in national money
$29,438
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $34,320, ranking 49 of 51 states — about 19.32% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Pennsylvania this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 462. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $34,320 the take-home is $28,703, which is worth about $29,438 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $37,770, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania ranks 49 of 51 for protective service workers, all other, with a median of $34,320 — about 19.32% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Against every occupation Pennsylvania reports, protective service workers, all other ranks 462 of 492, 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.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for protective service workers, all other on its $34,320 median: $28,703 retained after tax becomes $29,438 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $37,770 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Protective Service Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $24,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,320 |
| Top tenth earn over | $54,620 |
| This salary | $34,320 |
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 Pennsylvania | $28,703 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $29,756 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,183 |
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 | $33,009 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,430 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 protective service workers, all other in Pennsylvania earn under $34,320 and half over. The published range runs $24,320 at the tenth percentile to $54,620 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $28,703, from $34,320, 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 462 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $29,438, the adjusted value of that $34,320 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 462 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for protective service workers, all other in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $24,320 to $54,620; 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 Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $28,703 from $34,320. 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 462 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $29,438 — the adjusted value of that $34,320 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 462 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $37,770 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $24,320 and the top tenth $54,620 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $29,438 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; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $28,703.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Pennsylvania is $37,770. 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 ($24,320) and the ninetieth ($54,620) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $29,438 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 $28,703 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.