Recreation Workers in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,623
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$4,477
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,027
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$30,100
Kept after tax
$25,623
Worth in national money
$28,027
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is among the lower-paying states for recreation workers. The middle earner takes $30,100, ranking 46 of 51 states — about 17.67% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Idaho, this one sits low: 467 of 476 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Idaho is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $30,100 the take-home is $25,623; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $28,027 would nationally. The average comes to $34,190, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Idaho ranks 46 of 51 for recreation workers, with a median of $30,100 — about 17.67% 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.
- Recreation workers occupies position 467 of 476 in Idaho'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.
- Post-tax income for recreation workers in Idaho, on $30,100, is $25,623 — equivalent to $28,027 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $34,190 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Recreation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $30,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,370 |
| This salary | $30,100 |
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 Idaho | $25,623 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $26,365 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$895 |
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 | $29,177 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,082 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
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 recreation workers in Idaho earn under $30,100 and half over. The published range runs $21,150 at the tenth percentile to $50,370 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Idaho the take-home figure of $25,623, from $30,100, 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 467 of 476 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Idaho, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $28,027, the adjusted value of that $30,100 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 467 of 476 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for recreation workers in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $21,150 to $50,370; 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 Idaho is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $25,623 from $30,100. 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 467 of 476 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Idaho, so $28,027 — the adjusted value of that $30,100 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 467 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $34,190, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $21,150 and the top tenth $50,370 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $28,027.
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 Idaho adds its own income tax on top — which is why $25,623 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 Idaho is $34,190. 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 ($21,150) and the ninetieth ($50,370) 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?
Idaho'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 $28,027 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 $25,623 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.