Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,592
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$11,598
20.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,955
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$57,190
Kept after tax
$45,592
Worth in national money
$46,955
State rank
11
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maine is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $57,190, which ranks 11 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 10.81% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 267 among 484 occupations Maine publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Maine costs about what the country costs, so from $57,190, take-home of $45,592 is worth roughly $46,955 in national money. The average comes to $59,150, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maine ranks 11 of 50 states publishing a median for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders, at $57,190 — about 10.81% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 267 of 484 in Maine places separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders 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.
- Price parity in Maine is near the national base, so for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders, whose median is $57,190, the adjusted figure of $46,955 differs little from $45,592 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $59,150 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,650 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,800 |
| This salary | $57,190 |
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 Maine | $45,592 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,132 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,576 |
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 | $54,028 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,116 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maine earn less than $57,190. The published range is $45,650 up to $79,800, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Maine the take-home figure of $45,592, from $57,190, 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 267 of 484 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maine, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $46,955, the adjusted value of that $57,190 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 267 of 484 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders in Maine the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,650 to $79,800. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Maine is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $45,592 from $57,190. 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 267 of 484 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maine, so $46,955 — the adjusted value of that $57,190 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 267 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $59,150, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $45,650 and the top tenth $79,800, so most people doing this work in Maine sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Maine sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $46,955 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Maine adds its own income tax on top — which is why $45,592 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 50 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 Maine is $59,150. 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 ($45,650 to $79,800) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $46,955 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 $45,592 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.