Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,122
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$9,438
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,904
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$51,560
Kept after tax
$42,122
Worth in national money
$45,904
State rank
22
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Missouri is 22 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $51,560. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 271 among 488 occupations Missouri publishes pay for.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $51,560 you keep $42,122, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $45,904 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $53,050, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Missouri ranks 22 of 49 for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners at $51,560. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 271 of 488 in Missouri places septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners 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 Missouri income tax, retained pay for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners on $51,560 is $42,122. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $45,904 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 $53,050 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 | $39,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,770 |
| This salary | $51,560 |
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 Missouri | $42,122 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,608 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,028 |
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 | $49,711 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,243 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $51,560. The published range is $39,640 up to $63,770, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $42,122 take-home in Missouri comes from $51,560. 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 271 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $45,904 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 271.
- Reported values are medians; for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $39,640 to $63,770. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $42,122, from $51,560, assumes a single Missouri 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 271 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,904, worked from $51,560, 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 Missouri address, on work sitting at 271 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $39,640 and the top tenth $63,770, so most people doing this work in Missouri sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Missouri sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $45,904 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 Missouri's own levy, $42,122 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 ($39,640 to $63,770) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $45,904 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 $42,122 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.