Sales and Related Workers, All Other in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,252
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$9,558
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,418
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$52,810
Kept after tax
$43,252
Worth in national money
$38,418
State rank
11
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays this job a middle wage of $52,810, ranking 11 of 48 states and sitting about 9.38% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations California reports figures for, this is number 352.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $52,810 the take-home is $43,252. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $38,418 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $65,410, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California's median for sales and related workers, all other is $52,810, about 9.38% above the national figure and 11 of 48 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In California's occupational distribution, sales and related workers, all other sits at 352 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $43,252 for sales and related workers, all other, from $52,810. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $38,418. ⚠️ 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 $65,410 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Sales and Related Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,810 |
| Top tenth earn over | $105,460 |
| This salary | $52,810 |
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 California | $43,252 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,613 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,491 |
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 | $51,116 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$9,060 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
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 sales and related workers, all other in California earn under $52,810 and half over. The published range runs $37,280 at the tenth percentile to $105,460 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $43,252 take-home in California comes from $52,810. 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 352 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $38,418, the adjusted value of that $52,810 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 352 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for sales and related workers, all other in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,280 to $105,460; 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.
- Retained pay of $43,252, from $52,810, assumes a single California 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 352 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 11 of 48 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $38,418 — the adjusted value of that $52,810 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 352 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $65,410 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $37,280, the highest tenth $105,460, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $38,418 of national purchasing power.
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 California's own levy, $43,252 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 California is $65,410. 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 ($37,280) and the ninetieth ($105,460) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $38,418 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 $43,252 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.