Speech-Language Pathologists in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,492
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$26,068
26.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,825
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$97,560
Kept after tax
$71,492
Worth in national money
$65,825
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Hawaii sits in the middle of the pack for speech-language pathologists. The median is $97,560, ranking 19 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Hawaii. It ranks 86 out of 437 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $97,560 the take-home is $71,492. But Hawaii costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $65,825 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $91,660, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Hawaii occupies the middle band for speech-language pathologists: a median of $97,560, ranking 19 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within Hawaii, speech-language pathologists ranks 86 of 437 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Hawaii income tax is $71,492 for speech-language pathologists, from $97,560. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $65,825. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $91,660 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Speech-Language Pathologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $120,620 |
| This salary | $97,560 |
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 Hawaii | $71,492 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,463 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$13,890 |
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 | $89,072 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$19,187 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $97,560 as a midpoint for Hawaii, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $61,000 and the ninetieth is $120,620 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Hawaii's $71,492, worked from $97,560. 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 86 of 437.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $65,825 uses one figure for the whole of Hawaii. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 437 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 86.
- The Hawaii median of $97,560 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $61,000 to $120,620. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Hawaii take-home of $71,492, on $97,560 for work ranking 86 of 437 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 86 of 437 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $65,825, worked from $97,560, 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 Hawaii address, on work sitting at 86 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $91,660, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $61,000 and the top tenth $120,620, so most people doing this work in Hawaii sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Hawaii run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $65,825 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Hawaii then takes its own share, leaving $71,492.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Hawaii is $91,660. 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 ($61,000 to $120,620) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $65,825 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 $71,492 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.