Recreation Workers in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,777
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$5,933
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,540
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$35,710
Kept after tax
$29,777
Worth in national money
$30,540
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 22 of 51 states for recreation workers, with a middle wage of $35,710. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Pennsylvania this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, recreation workers ranks 454. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $35,710, take-home of $29,777 is worth roughly $30,540 in national money. The average comes to $38,120, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 22 of 51 for recreation workers at $35,710. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Pennsylvania reports, recreation workers ranks 454 of 492, 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 Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for recreation workers, whose median is $35,710, the adjusted figure of $30,540 differs little from $29,777 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $38,120 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 | $24,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $35,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $55,030 |
| This salary | $35,710 |
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 Pennsylvania | $29,777 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,873 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,230 |
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 | $34,346 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,488 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $35,710 as a midpoint for Pennsylvania, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $24,940 and the ninetieth is $55,030 — 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 Pennsylvania's $29,777, worked from $35,710. 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 454 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $30,540, the adjusted value of that $35,710 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 454 of 492 in the state.
- The Pennsylvania median of $35,710 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $24,940 to $55,030. 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 Pennsylvania take-home of $29,777, on $35,710 for work ranking 454 of 492 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 454 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $30,540 — the adjusted value of that $35,710 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 454 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $38,120, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $24,940 at the bottom tenth to $55,030 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $30,540.
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 Pennsylvania's own levy, $29,777 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 Pennsylvania is $38,120. 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 ($24,940) and the ninetieth ($55,030) 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?
Pennsylvania'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 $30,540 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 $29,777 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.