Retail Salespersons in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$25,377
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$4,113
13.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$28,725
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$29,490
Kept after tax
$25,377
Worth in national money
$28,725
State rank
48
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for retail salespersons. The middle earner takes $29,490, ranking 48 of 51 states — about 16.72% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Louisiana, this one sits low: 443 of 484 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Louisiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $29,490 the take-home is $25,377; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $28,725 would nationally. The average comes to $32,510, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Louisiana ranks 48 of 51 for retail salespersons, with a median of $29,490 — about 16.72% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Retail salespersons occupies position 443 of 484 in Louisiana's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Post-tax income for retail salespersons in Louisiana, on $29,490, is $25,377 — equivalent to $28,725 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $32,510 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Retail Salespersons
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $21,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $29,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $45,280 |
| This salary | $29,490 |
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 Louisiana | $25,377 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,875 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,097 |
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 | $28,870 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,536 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $29,490 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $21,940 and the ninetieth is $45,280 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $25,377 take-home in Louisiana comes from $29,490. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 443 of 484.
- Two cautions on $28,725, the adjusted value of that $29,490 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Louisiana. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 443 of 484 locally.
- The Louisiana median of $29,490 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $21,940 to $45,280. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $25,377, from $29,490, assumes a single Louisiana filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 443 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 48 of 51 for it.
- This $28,725 adjusted figure, worked from $29,490, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 443 of 484 in the state. The occupation ranks 443 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $32,510, 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 $21,940 at the bottom tenth to $45,280 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $28,725 in national terms.
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 Louisiana's own levy, $25,377 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 Louisiana is $32,510. 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 ($21,940) and the ninetieth ($45,280) 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?
Louisiana'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 $28,725 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 $25,377 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.