Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,214
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$9,156
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,474
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
$47,370
Kept after tax
$38,214
Worth in national money
$42,474
State rank
32
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $47,370, ranking 32 of 49 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Alabama reports figures for, this is number 281.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $47,370 you keep $38,214, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,474 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $47,630, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alabama occupies the middle band for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners: a median of $47,370, ranking 32 of 49. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Alabama's occupational distribution, septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners sits at 281 of 482 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners on $47,370 is $38,214. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,474 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 $47,630 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,500 |
| This salary | $47,370 |
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 | $38,214 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,242 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,062 |
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 | $44,846 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,284 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $47,370. The published range is $37,610 up to $57,500, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $38,214 take-home in Alabama comes from $47,370. 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 281 of 482.
- Two cautions on $42,474, the adjusted value of that $47,370 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Alabama. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 281 of 482 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,610 to $57,500. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $38,214, from $47,370, assumes a single Alabama 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 281 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 49 for it.
- This $42,474 adjusted figure, worked from $47,370, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 281 of 482 in the state. The occupation ranks 281 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $37,610 at the bottom tenth to $57,500 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 $42,474.
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, $38,214 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($37,610 to $57,500) 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 $42,474 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 $38,214 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.
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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.