Surveyors in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$56,726
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$15,354
21.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,229
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$72,080
Kept after tax
$56,726
Worth in national money
$60,229
State rank
32
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Michigan is 32 of 50 states for surveyors, with a middle wage of $72,080. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Surveyors ranks 162 among 493 occupations Michigan publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $72,080 you keep $56,726 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $60,229 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $72,420, since top earners drag the number up.
- Michigan ranks 32 of 50 for surveyors at $72,080. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 162 of 493 in Michigan places surveyors 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.
- Retained pay in Michigan is $56,726 after the full tax stack, from $72,080. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $60,229 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $72,420 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Surveyors
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $72,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,940 |
| This salary | $72,080 |
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 Michigan | $56,726 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $59,538 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,041 |
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 | $68,082 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,437 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Michigan earn less than $72,080. The published range is $51,240 up to $99,940, 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 Michigan's $56,726, worked from $72,080. 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 162 of 493.
- One number stands for prices across all of Michigan, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $60,229, the adjusted value of that $72,080 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 162 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for surveyors in Michigan the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,240 to $99,940. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Michigan take-home of $56,726, on $72,080 for work ranking 162 of 493 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 162 of 493 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Michigan, so $60,229 — the adjusted value of that $72,080 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 162 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $51,240 at the tenth percentile, $99,940 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Michigan is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $60,229 in national terms.
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 Michigan's own levy, $56,726 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($51,240 to $99,940) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $60,229 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 $56,726 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.