Receptionists and Information Clerks in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$26,996
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$5,594
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,005
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$32,590
Kept after tax
$26,996
Worth in national money
$30,005
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $32,590, ranking 49 of 51 states — about 14.26% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Alabama, this one sits low: 429 of 482 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $32,590 you keep $26,996 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $30,005 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $32,560.
- Alabama ranks 49 of 51 for receptionists and information clerks, with a median of $32,590 — about 14.26% 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.
- Receptionists and information clerks occupies position 429 of 482 in Alabama's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in Alabama is $26,996 after the full tax stack, from $32,590. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $30,005 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $32,560 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Receptionists and Information Clerks
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $32,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $40,730 |
| This salary | $32,590 |
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 Alabama | $26,996 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $28,366 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$814 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $30,884 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$985 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $32,590 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $22,830 and the ninetieth is $40,730 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $26,996, worked from $32,590. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 429 of 482.
- Two cautions on $30,005, the adjusted value of that $32,590 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Alabama. 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 429 of 482 locally.
- The Alabama median of $32,590 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $22,830 to $40,730. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Alabama take-home of $26,996, on $32,590 for work ranking 429 of 482 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 429 of 482 in the state.
- This $30,005 adjusted figure, worked from $32,590, 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 429 of 482 in the state. The occupation ranks 429 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $22,830 and the top tenth $40,730, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $30,005.
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 Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $26,996 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($22,830 to $40,730) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $30,005 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 $26,996 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.