Radiation Therapists in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$113,647
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$52,803
31.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$100,947
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$166,450
Kept after tax
$113,647
Worth in national money
$100,947
State rank
1
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays radiation therapists a middle wage of $166,450, ranking 1 of 46 states and sitting about 58.06% above the national middle.
- Within California this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, radiation therapists ranks 19 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $166,450, tax leaves $113,647 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $100,947 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $161,890.
- California's median for radiation therapists is $166,450, about 58.06% above the national figure and 1 of 46 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation California publishes a median for, radiation therapists sits 19 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After tax, $113,647 remains from the California median of $166,450 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $100,947 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $161,890 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Radiation Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $130,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $166,450 |
| Top tenth earn over | $208,100 |
| This salary | $166,450 |
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 California | $113,647 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $125,035 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$27,723 |
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 | $149,789 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$39,414 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $166,450 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $130,150 and the ninetieth is $208,100 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In California the take-home figure of $113,647, from $166,450, 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 19 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $100,947 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 19.
- The California median of $166,450 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $130,150 to $208,100. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $113,647 from $166,450. 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 19 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $100,947, worked from $166,450, 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 California address, on work sitting at 19 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $130,150 at the tenth percentile, $208,100 at the ninetieth.
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 $100,947 of national purchasing power.
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 California's own levy, $113,647 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 46 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 ($130,150 to $208,100) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $100,947 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 $113,647 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.