Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood in Mississippi
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,491
after federal, FICA and Mississippi tax
Tax takes
$6,469
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,930
Mississippi costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Mississippi — 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
$36,960
Kept after tax
$30,491
Worth in national money
$34,930
State rank
38
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Mississippi is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $36,960, ranking 38 of 46 states — about 13.58% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Mississippi, this one sits low: 376 of 486 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Mississippi does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,960 you keep $30,491, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $34,930 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $39,570, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Mississippi ranks 38 of 46 for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood, with a median of $36,960 — about 13.58% 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.
- Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood occupies position 376 of 486 in Mississippi'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.
- After federal, FICA and Mississippi income tax, retained pay for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood on $36,960 is $30,491. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $34,930 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $39,570 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $51,450 |
| This salary | $36,960 |
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 Mississippi | $30,491 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,877 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,126 |
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 | $35,235 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,571 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
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 sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood in Mississippi earn under $36,960 and half over. The published range runs $28,320 at the tenth percentile to $51,450 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Mississippi the take-home figure of $30,491, from $36,960, 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 376 of 486 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Mississippi, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,930, the adjusted value of that $36,960 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 376 of 486 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood in Mississippi, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,320 to $51,450; 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.
- Take-home for Mississippi is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,491 from $36,960. 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 376 of 486 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Mississippi, so $34,930 — the adjusted value of that $36,960 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 376 of 486 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 $39,570 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,320 at the bottom tenth to $51,450 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $34,930.
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 Mississippi adds its own income tax on top — which is why $30,491 of this wage survives to your account.
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 Mississippi is $39,570. 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 ($28,320 to $51,450) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Mississippi rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Mississippi'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 $34,930 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 $30,491 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Mississippi 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.