Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,321
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$9,069
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,615
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$49,390
Kept after tax
$40,321
Worth in national money
$44,615
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Nebraska pays this job around $49,390 at the midpoint, 25 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against other work in Nebraska, this sits in the middle: 297 of 488 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $49,390 you keep $40,321, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $44,615 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $48,610, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For refuse and recyclable material collectors the Nebraska median is $49,390, ranking 25 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Refuse and recyclable material collectors ranks 297 of 488 occupations in Nebraska by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for refuse and recyclable material collectors on $49,390 is $40,321. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $44,615 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 $48,610 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,400 |
| This salary | $49,390 |
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 Nebraska | $40,321 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,865 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,533 |
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 | $47,469 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,854 |
| 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 Nebraska earn under $49,390 and half over. The published range runs $37,210 at the tenth percentile to $59,400 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Nebraska's $40,321, worked from $49,390. 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 297 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Nebraska, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $44,615, the adjusted value of that $49,390 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 488 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for refuse and recyclable material collectors in Nebraska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,210 to $59,400; 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.
- The Nebraska take-home of $40,321, on $49,390 for work ranking 297 of 488 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 297 of 488 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Nebraska, so $44,615 — the adjusted value of that $49,390 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 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $37,210 at the tenth percentile, $59,400 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Nebraska sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $44,615 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Nebraska then takes its own share, leaving $40,321.
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 ($37,210 to $59,400) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $44,615 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 $40,321 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.