Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$88,710
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$35,510
28.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,797
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
$124,220
Kept after tax
$88,710
Worth in national money
$78,797
State rank
11
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $124,220, which ranks 11 of 49 states with published figures. That is about 18.39% above the national middle.
- Within California this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 83 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $124,220 the take-home is $88,710. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $78,797 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $129,250, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California ranks 11 of 49 states publishing a median for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products, at $124,220 — about 18.39% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation California publishes a median for, sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products sits 83 of 492 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $88,710 for sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products, from $124,220. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $78,797. ⚠️ 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 $129,250 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $124,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $214,040 |
| This salary | $124,220 |
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 | $88,710 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $96,170 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$20,170 |
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 | $113,546 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$27,929 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $124,220 as a midpoint for California, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $58,820 and the ninetieth is $214,040 — 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 California's $88,710, worked from $124,220. 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 83 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $78,797 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 83.
- The California median of $124,220 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $58,820 to $214,040. 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 California take-home of $88,710, on $124,220 for work ranking 83 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 83 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $78,797, worked from $124,220, 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 California address, on work sitting at 83 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 $129,250 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $58,820 and the top tenth $214,040 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $78,797 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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $88,710 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 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 $129,250. 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 ($58,820) and the ninetieth ($214,040) 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 $78,797 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 $88,710 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.