Retail Salespersons in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,047
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$6,743
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,586
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$37,790
Kept after tax
$31,047
Worth in national money
$28,586
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Hawaii is one of the better-paying states for retail salespersons. The middle earner takes $37,790, which ranks 5 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 6.72% above the national middle.
- Within Hawaii this is lower-paid work. Of 437 occupations the state publishes figures for, retail salespersons ranks 413. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $37,790 the take-home is $31,047. But Hawaii costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $28,586 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $40,520, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Hawaii ranks 5 of 51 states publishing a median for retail salespersons, at $37,790 — about 6.72% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Against every occupation Hawaii reports, retail salespersons ranks 413 of 437, 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Hawaii income tax is $31,047 for retail salespersons, from $37,790. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $28,586. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $40,520 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Retail Salespersons
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,660 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $49,230 |
| This salary | $37,790 |
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 Hawaii | $31,047 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,544 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,905 |
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 | $35,926 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,932 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $37,790 as a midpoint for Hawaii, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,660 and the ninetieth is $49,230 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Hawaii the take-home figure of $31,047, from $37,790, 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 413 of 437 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $28,586 uses one figure for the whole of Hawaii. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 437 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 413.
- The Hawaii median of $37,790 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,660 to $49,230. 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 Hawaii is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $31,047 from $37,790. 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 413 of 437 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $28,586, worked from $37,790, 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 Hawaii address, on work sitting at 413 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $40,520, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $30,660 and the top tenth $49,230, so most people doing this work in Hawaii sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Hawaii costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $28,586 rather than its face figure.
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 Hawaii adds its own income tax on top — which is why $31,047 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.
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 Hawaii is $40,520. 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 ($30,660 to $49,230) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $28,586 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $31,047 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.