Surgical Technologists in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,619
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$12,061
19.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,917
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$62,680
Kept after tax
$50,619
Worth in national money
$51,917
State rank
29
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania sits in the middle of the pack for surgical technologists. The median is $62,680, ranking 29 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Surgical technologists ranks 212 among 492 occupations Pennsylvania publishes pay for.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $62,680, tax leaves $50,619, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $51,917 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $63,480, since top earners drag the number up.
- Pennsylvania occupies the middle band for surgical technologists: a median of $62,680, ranking 29 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.
- Position 212 of 492 in Pennsylvania places surgical technologists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Because Pennsylvania sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for surgical technologists — median $62,680 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $50,619 retained, $51,917 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $63,480 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Surgical Technologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,130 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,760 |
| This salary | $62,680 |
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 Pennsylvania | $50,619 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,543 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,154 |
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 | $60,285 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,605 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 surgical technologists in Pennsylvania earn under $62,680 and half over. The published range runs $47,130 at the tenth percentile to $77,760 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Pennsylvania's $50,619, worked from $62,680. 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 212 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $51,917, the adjusted value of that $62,680 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 212 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for surgical technologists in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,130 to $77,760; 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.
- The Pennsylvania take-home of $50,619, on $62,680 for work ranking 212 of 492 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 212 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $51,917 — the adjusted value of that $62,680 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 212 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $47,130 at the bottom tenth to $77,760 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $51,917.
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; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $50,619.
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 ($47,130 to $77,760) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $51,917 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 $50,619 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.