Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,900
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$9,830
18.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,823
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$54,730
Kept after tax
$44,900
Worth in national money
$50,823
State rank
40
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Louisiana pays this job a middle wage of $54,730, 40 of 51 states and about 8.89% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 228 among 484 occupations Louisiana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $54,730 you keep $44,900, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $50,823 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $53,500, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Louisiana's $54,730 median for security and fire alarm systems installers places it 40 of 51 states, about 8.89% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 228 of 484 in Louisiana 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.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for security and fire alarm systems installers on $54,730 is $44,900. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $50,823 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 $53,500 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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 | $36,490 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $54,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $71,640 |
| This salary | $54,730 |
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 Louisiana | $44,900 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $46,156 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,326 |
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 | $53,167 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,022 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $54,730 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $36,490 and the ninetieth is $71,640 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $44,900 take-home in Louisiana comes from $54,730. 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 228 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $50,823 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 228.
- The Louisiana median of $54,730 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $36,490 to $71,640. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $44,900, from $54,730, assumes a single Louisiana 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 228 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 40 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $50,823, worked from $54,730, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 228 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,490 at the tenth percentile, $71,640 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $50,823 in national terms.
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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $44,900.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,490 to $71,640) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $50,823 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 $44,900 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.