Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installers in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,162
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$11,338
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,397
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$59,500
Kept after tax
$48,162
Worth in national money
$49,397
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 31 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $59,500. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 238 among 492 occupations Pennsylvania publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $59,500 the take-home is $48,162, which is worth about $49,397 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $59,580, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania ranks 31 of 51 for security and fire alarm systems installers at $59,500. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 238 of 492 in Pennsylvania 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.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for security and fire alarm systems installers on its $59,500 median: $48,162 retained after tax becomes $49,397 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $59,580 sits above the median, the right skew typical of 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 | $38,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,260 |
| This salary | $59,500 |
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 Pennsylvania | $48,162 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,988 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,045 |
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 | $57,227 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,473 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $59,500. The published range is $38,290 up to $80,260, 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 Pennsylvania's $48,162, worked from $59,500. 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 238 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $49,397, the adjusted value of that $59,500 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 238 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for security and fire alarm systems installers in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,290 to $80,260. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Pennsylvania take-home of $48,162, on $59,500 for work ranking 238 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 238 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $49,397 — the adjusted value of that $59,500 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 238 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $38,290 and the top tenth $80,260, so most people doing this work in Pennsylvania sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $49,397.
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 Pennsylvania's own levy, $48,162 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 ($38,290 to $80,260) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $49,397 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 $48,162 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.