Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,355
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$8,885
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$41,520
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
$46,240
Kept after tax
$37,355
Worth in national money
$41,520
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Alabama pays this job a middle wage of $46,240, 36 of 51 states and about 6.94% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 297 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $46,240 you keep $37,355, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $41,520 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $45,450, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Alabama's $46,240 median for refuse and recyclable material collectors places it 36 of 51 states, about 6.94% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 297 of 482 in Alabama places refuse and recyclable material collectors in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for refuse and recyclable material collectors on $46,240 is $37,355. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $41,520 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $45,450 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,240 |
| Top tenth earn over | $61,000 |
| This salary | $46,240 |
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 | $37,355 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,334 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,042 |
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 | $43,778 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,261 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 refuse and recyclable material collectors in Alabama earn under $46,240 and half over. The published range runs $29,500 at the tenth percentile to $61,000 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $37,355, from $46,240, 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 297 of 482 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $41,520, the adjusted value of that $46,240 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 297 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for refuse and recyclable material collectors in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,500 to $61,000; 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 Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,355 from $46,240. 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 297 of 482 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $41,520 — the adjusted value of that $46,240 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 297 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $29,500 at the tenth percentile, $61,000 at the ninetieth.
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 $41,520.
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 $37,355 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 ($29,500 to $61,000) 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 $41,520 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 $37,355 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.