Recreation Workers in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,010
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$6,440
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,937
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$37,450
Kept after tax
$31,010
Worth in national money
$31,937
State rank
12
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for recreation workers is strong here. Maine's middle earner gets $37,450, putting the state 12 of 51 — about 2.43% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Maine this is lower-paid work. Of 484 occupations the state publishes figures for, recreation workers ranks 458. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Maine costs about what the country costs, so from $37,450, take-home of $31,010 is worth roughly $31,937 in national money. The average comes to $40,310, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For recreation workers, Maine sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $37,450, ranking 12 of 51 and running about 2.43% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Against every occupation Maine reports, recreation workers ranks 458 of 484, 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.
- Price parity in Maine is near the national base, so for recreation workers, whose median is $37,450, the adjusted figure of $31,937 differs little from $31,010 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $40,310 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Recreation Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,450 |
| Top tenth earn over | $53,620 |
| This salary | $37,450 |
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 Maine | $31,010 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,271 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,273 |
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 | $35,880 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,539 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,450 as a midpoint for Maine, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,790 and the ninetieth is $53,620 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Maine the take-home figure of $31,010, from $37,450, 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 458 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 $31,937 uses one figure for the whole of Maine. 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 458.
- The Maine median of $37,450 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,790 to $53,620. 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 Maine is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,010 from $37,450. 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 458 of 484 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $31,937, worked from $37,450, 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 Maine address, on work sitting at 458 of 484 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 $40,310 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $30,790 at the tenth percentile, $53,620 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Maine is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $31,937 in national terms.
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 Maine's own levy, $31,010 remains.
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 Maine is $40,310. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($30,790 to $53,620) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $31,937 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 $31,010 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.