Speech-Language Pathologists in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$85,553
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$33,417
28.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$75,993
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$118,970
Kept after tax
$85,553
Worth in national money
$75,993
State rank
1
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for speech-language pathologists. The middle earner takes $118,970, which ranks 1 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 21.56% above the national middle.
- Within California this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, speech-language pathologists ranks 91 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- California is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $118,970 the take-home is $85,553; in national-average money that behaves like $75,993. The average lands at $118,600, below the middle of the range.
- California ranks 1 of 51 states publishing a median for speech-language pathologists, at $118,970 — about 21.56% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation California publishes a median for, speech-language pathologists sits 91 of 492 — 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.
- Take-home for speech-language pathologists in California, on $118,970, is $85,553; deflated by the state's price level, $75,993. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $118,600 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Speech-Language Pathologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $79,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $118,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $160,900 |
| This salary | $118,970 |
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 California | $85,553 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $92,525 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$19,223 |
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 | $109,059 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$26,552 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
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 speech-language pathologists in California earn under $118,970 and half over. The published range runs $79,750 at the tenth percentile to $160,900 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $85,553 take-home in California comes from $118,970. 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 91 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $75,993 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 91.
- Figures are distribution medians for speech-language pathologists in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $79,750 to $160,900; 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.
- Retained pay of $85,553, from $118,970, assumes a single California 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 91 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 1 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $75,993, worked from $118,970, 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 California address, on work sitting at 91 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $79,750 at the tenth percentile, $160,900 at the ninetieth.
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 $75,993 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 California's own levy, $85,553 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($79,750 to $160,900) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $75,993 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 $85,553 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.