Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,168
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$8,792
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,471
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — 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
$46,960
Kept after tax
$38,168
Worth in national money
$39,471
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Georgia sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $46,960, ranking 31 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 329 among 492 occupations Georgia publishes pay for.
- Here is where Georgia does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $46,960 you keep $38,168, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $39,471 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $46,150, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Georgia occupies the middle band for refuse and recyclable material collectors: a median of $46,960, ranking 31 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Position 329 of 492 in Georgia 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 Georgia income tax, retained pay for refuse and recyclable material collectors on $46,960 is $38,168. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $39,471 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 $46,150 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 | $31,680 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,330 |
| This salary | $46,960 |
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 Georgia | $38,168 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,912 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,602 |
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 | $44,789 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,937 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $46,960 as a midpoint for Georgia, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $31,680 and the ninetieth is $60,330 — 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 Georgia's $38,168, worked from $46,960. 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 329 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Georgia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $39,471, the adjusted value of that $46,960 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 329 of 492 in the state.
- The Georgia median of $46,960 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $31,680 to $60,330. 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 Georgia take-home of $38,168, on $46,960 for work ranking 329 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 329 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Georgia, so $39,471 — the adjusted value of that $46,960 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 329 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $31,680 at the bottom tenth to $60,330 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $39,471.
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; Georgia then takes its own share, leaving $38,168.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($31,680 to $60,330) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Georgia rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia'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 $39,471 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 $38,168 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia 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.