Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,957
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$6,913
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,564
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$42,870
Kept after tax
$35,957
Worth in national money
$35,564
State rank
23
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $42,870, ranking 23 of 46 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Arizona, this one sits low: 411 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $42,870 the take-home is $35,957, which is worth about $35,564 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $44,920, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arizona occupies the middle band for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood: a median of $42,870, ranking 23 of 46. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood occupies position 411 of 491 in Arizona'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.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood on its $42,870 median: $35,957 retained after tax becomes $35,564 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $44,920 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,590 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $55,110 |
| This salary | $42,870 |
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 Arizona | $35,957 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,626 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,127 |
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 | $42,037 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,572 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arizona earn less than $42,870. The published range is $36,590 up to $55,110, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arizona's $35,957, worked from $42,870. 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 411 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arizona, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $35,564, the adjusted value of that $42,870 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 411 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,590 to $55,110. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Arizona take-home of $35,957, on $42,870 for work ranking 411 of 491 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 411 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arizona, so $35,564 — the adjusted value of that $42,870 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 411 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $44,920, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,590 at the tenth percentile, $55,110 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $35,564 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $35,957.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Arizona is $44,920. 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 ($36,590 to $55,110) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $35,564 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 $35,957 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.