Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,420
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$9,650
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,507
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
$52,070
Kept after tax
$42,420
Worth in national money
$43,507
State rank
19
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $52,070, ranking 19 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 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports figures for, this is number 293.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $52,070, tax leaves $42,420, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $43,507 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $55,730, since top earners drag the number up.
- Pennsylvania occupies the middle band for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners: a median of $52,070, ranking 19 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 Pennsylvania's occupational distribution, septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners sits at 293 of 492 — 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.
- Because Pennsylvania sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners — median $52,070 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $42,420 retained, $43,507 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $55,730 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,030 |
| This salary | $52,070 |
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 | $42,420 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,018 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,791 |
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 | $50,081 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,165 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Pennsylvania earn under $52,070 and half over. The published range runs $38,320 at the tenth percentile to $74,030 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $42,420, from $52,070, 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 293 of 492 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $43,507, the adjusted value of that $52,070 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Pennsylvania. 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 293 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $38,320 to $74,030; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $42,420 from $52,070. 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 293 of 492 locally.
- This $43,507 adjusted figure, worked from $52,070, 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 293 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 293 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $55,730, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $38,320 at the bottom tenth to $74,030 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Pennsylvania is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $43,507 in national terms.
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, $42,420 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.
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 Pennsylvania is $55,730. 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 ($38,320 to $74,030) 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 $43,507 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 $42,420 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.
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.