Recreation Workers in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,673
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$3,907
13.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$27,928
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$28,580
Kept after tax
$24,673
Worth in national money
$27,928
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for recreation workers is on the low side in Louisiana. The middle earner gets $28,580. That is 48 of 51 states, and about 21.83% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 484 occupations Louisiana publishes, recreation workers lands at 449. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Louisiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $28,580 the take-home is $24,673; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $27,928 would nationally. The average comes to $31,220, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For recreation workers, Louisiana sits in the lower band at $28,580, ranking 48 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 21.83%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Louisiana, this work ranks 449 of 484 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Post-tax income for recreation workers in Louisiana, on $28,580, is $24,673 — equivalent to $27,928 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 $31,220 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Recreation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $19,300 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,320 |
| This salary | $28,580 |
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 Louisiana | $24,673 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,144 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,053 |
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 | $28,006 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,483 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 Louisiana earn under $28,580 and half over. The published range runs $19,300 at the tenth percentile to $45,320 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Louisiana the take-home figure of $24,673, from $28,580, 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 449 of 484 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $27,928 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 449.
- Figures are distribution medians for recreation workers in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $19,300 to $45,320; 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 Louisiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $24,673 from $28,580. 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 449 of 484 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $27,928, worked from $28,580, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 449 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $31,220, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $19,300 at the bottom tenth to $45,320 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $27,928 in national terms.
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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $24,673.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Louisiana is $31,220. 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 ($19,300) and the ninetieth ($45,320) 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?
Louisiana'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 $27,928 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 $24,673 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.