Speech-Language Pathologists in Missouri

A stethoscope and folded scrubs in a sunlit clinical workspace.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$68,380

after federal, FICA and Missouri tax

Tax takes

$20,900

23.4% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$74,518

Missouri costs less than average

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

$89,280

Kept after tax

$68,380

Worth in national money

$74,518

State rank

28

of 51 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • Missouri sits in the middle of the pack for speech-language pathologists. The median is $89,280, ranking 28 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 Missouri. It ranks 83 out of 488 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
  • Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $89,280 you keep $68,380 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $74,518 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $89,040.
  • Missouri occupies the middle band for speech-language pathologists: a median of $89,280, ranking 28 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 Missouri, speech-language pathologists ranks 83 of 488 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 in Missouri is $68,380 after the full tax stack, from $89,280. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $74,518 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $89,040 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.

Compare this career across states

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Pay band: Speech-Language Pathologists

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$58,180
Half earn under$89,280
Top tenth earn over$119,240
This salary$89,280

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

Compare with
+$3,259take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Missouri$68,380
Take-home in Texas$71,638
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity−$797

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

Moving to
$0$90,381
$90,381in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$84,648
Raise you would need+$1,101
Prices in Texas97 vs 92

State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.

Sources and assumptions
  • Treat $89,280 as a midpoint for Missouri, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $58,180 and the ninetieth is $119,240 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
  • In Missouri the take-home figure of $68,380, from $89,280, 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 83 of 488 occupations here.
  • One number stands for prices across all of Missouri, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $74,518, the adjusted value of that $89,280 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 83 of 488 in the state.
  • The Missouri median of $89,280 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $58,180 to $119,240. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
  • Take-home for Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $68,380 from $89,280. 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 83 of 488 locally.
  • Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Missouri, so $74,518 — the adjusted value of that $89,280 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 83 of 488 locally.

Questions people ask

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $58,180 and the top tenth $119,240, so most people doing this work in Missouri sit within a fairly tight band.

What does this pay actually buy where I live?

A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $74,518.

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; Missouri then takes its own share, leaving $68,380.

Can I compare this job across every state?

All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.

What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?

The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($58,180 to $119,240) 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 $74,518 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 $68,380 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.

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.