Surgical Technologists in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,784
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$12,936
20.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,404
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$62,720
Kept after tax
$49,784
Worth in national money
$52,404
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah sits in the middle of the pack for surgical technologists. The median is $62,720, ranking 28 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Utah, this sits in the middle: 196 of 487 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Utah is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $62,720 the take-home is $49,784; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $52,404 would nationally. The average comes to $65,620, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Utah occupies the middle band for surgical technologists: a median of $62,720, 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.
- Surgical technologists ranks 196 of 487 occupations in Utah by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for surgical technologists in Utah, on $62,720, is $49,784 — equivalent to $52,404 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $65,620 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Surgical Technologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,720 |
| Top tenth earn over | $87,430 |
| This salary | $62,720 |
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 Utah | $49,784 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,576 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,700 |
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 | $59,246 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,056 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Utah earn less than $62,720. The published range is $45,760 up to $87,430, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Utah's $49,784, worked from $62,720. 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 196 of 487.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,404 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 196.
- Reported values are medians; for surgical technologists in Utah the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,760 to $87,430. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Utah take-home of $49,784, on $62,720 for work ranking 196 of 487 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 196 of 487 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,404, worked from $62,720, 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 Utah address, on work sitting at 196 of 487 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 $65,620, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $45,760 at the bottom tenth to $87,430 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $52,404 in national terms.
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; Utah then takes its own share, leaving $49,784.
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.
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 Utah is $65,620. 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 ($45,760 to $87,430) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $52,404 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 $49,784 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.