Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,345
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$12,365
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,735
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$60,710
Kept after tax
$48,345
Worth in national money
$53,735
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Alabama is 22 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $60,710. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 191 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $60,710 you keep $48,345 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $53,735 at national prices. Average and middle land in the same place, $60,710.
- Alabama ranks 22 of 51 for security and fire alarm systems installers at $60,710. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 191 of 482 in Alabama places security and fire alarm systems installers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in Alabama is $48,345 after the full tax stack, from $60,710. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $53,735 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. The mean equals the median at $60,710 — no skew either way in the published band.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $39,660 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,710 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,550 |
| This salary | $60,710 |
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 Alabama | $48,345 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,960 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,293 |
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 | $57,455 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,564 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $60,710 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $39,660 and the ninetieth is $77,550 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $48,345, from $60,710, 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 191 of 482 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $53,735 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 191.
- The Alabama median of $60,710 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $39,660 to $77,550. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,345 from $60,710. 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 191 of 482 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $53,735, worked from $60,710, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 191 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $39,660 and the top tenth $77,550, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $53,735 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Alabama's own levy, $48,345 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($39,660 to $77,550) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $53,735 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 $48,345 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.