Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$40,561
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$8,559
17.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,912
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$49,120
Kept after tax
$40,561
Worth in national money
$45,912
State rank
31
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $49,120, ranking 31 of 47 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 484 occupations Louisiana reports figures for, this is number 265.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $49,120 you keep $40,561 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $45,912 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $48,650.
- Louisiana occupies the middle band for structural metal fabricators and fitters: a median of $49,120, ranking 31 of 47. 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 Louisiana's occupational distribution, structural metal fabricators and fitters sits at 265 of 484 — 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.
- Retained pay in Louisiana is $40,561 after the full tax stack, from $49,120. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $45,912 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $48,650 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,630 |
| This salary | $49,120 |
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 Louisiana | $40,561 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,648 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,053 |
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
| To match take-home only | $47,767 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,692 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 structural metal fabricators and fitters in Louisiana earn under $49,120 and half over. The published range runs $22,400 at the tenth percentile to $65,630 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Louisiana the take-home figure of $40,561, from $49,120, 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 265 of 484 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $45,912 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 265.
- Figures are distribution medians for structural metal fabricators and fitters in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $22,400 to $65,630; 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 Louisiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $40,561 from $49,120. 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 265 of 484 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,912, worked from $49,120, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 265 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $22,400, the highest tenth $65,630, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $45,912.
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 Louisiana's own levy, $40,561 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($22,400) and the ninetieth ($65,630) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $45,912 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 $40,561 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.