Speech-Language Pathologists in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,590
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$22,210
22.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,764
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$97,800
Kept after tax
$75,590
Worth in national money
$74,764
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Arizona pays speech-language pathologists around $97,800 at the midpoint, 18 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Within Arizona this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, speech-language pathologists ranks 76 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $97,800, take-home of $75,590 is worth roughly $74,764 in national money. The average comes to $100,270, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For speech-language pathologists the Arizona median is $97,800, ranking 18 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Ranked against every occupation Arizona publishes a median for, speech-language pathologists sits 76 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for speech-language pathologists, whose median is $97,800, the adjusted figure of $74,764 differs little from $75,590 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $100,270 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Speech-Language Pathologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $68,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $130,550 |
| This salary | $97,800 |
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 Arizona | $75,590 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,632 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,126 |
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 | $94,897 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,080 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arizona earn less than $97,800. The published range is $68,990 up to $130,550, 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 Arizona's $75,590, worked from $97,800. 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 76 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $74,764 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 76.
- Reported values are medians; for speech-language pathologists in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $68,990 to $130,550. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Arizona take-home of $75,590, on $97,800 for work ranking 76 of 491 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 76 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $74,764, worked from $97,800, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 76 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $68,990 and the top tenth $130,550, so most people doing this work in Arizona sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $74,764 of national purchasing power.
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 Arizona's own levy, $75,590 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($68,990 to $130,550) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $74,764 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $75,590 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.