Technical Writers in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,908
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$11,882
18.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,756
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
$63,790
Kept after tax
$51,908
Worth in national money
$58,756
State rank
43
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for technical writers. The middle earner takes $63,790, ranking 43 of 45 states — about 29.43% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Against other work in Louisiana, this sits in the middle: 146 of 484 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $63,790 you keep $51,908, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $58,756 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $72,730, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Louisiana ranks 43 of 45 for technical writers, with a median of $63,790 — about 29.43% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Technical writers ranks 146 of 484 occupations in Louisiana 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.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for technical writers on $63,790 is $51,908. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $58,756 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $72,730 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Technical Writers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $53,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $94,680 |
| This salary | $63,790 |
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 | $51,908 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,435 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,767 |
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 | $61,889 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,818 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Louisiana earn less than $63,790. The published range is $53,220 up to $94,680, 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 Louisiana's $51,908, worked from $63,790. 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 146 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $58,756 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 146.
- Reported values are medians; for technical writers in Louisiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $53,220 to $94,680. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Louisiana take-home of $51,908, on $63,790 for work ranking 146 of 484 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 146 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $58,756, worked from $63,790, 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 146 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $72,730, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $53,220 at the bottom tenth to $94,680 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Louisiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $58,756 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Louisiana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $51,908 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Louisiana is $72,730. 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 ($53,220 to $94,680) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
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 $58,756 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 $51,908 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.