Technical Writers in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,444
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$19,826
23.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,485
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
$85,270
Kept after tax
$65,444
Worth in national money
$69,485
State rank
22
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Michigan pays technical writers around $85,270 at the midpoint, 22 of 45 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 493 occupations Michigan reports, technical writers comes in at 97 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Michigan is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $85,270 the take-home is $65,444; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $69,485 would nationally. The average comes to $90,780, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For technical writers the Michigan median is $85,270, ranking 22 of 45 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Technical writers ranks 97 of 493 occupations by median in Michigan, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Post-tax income for technical writers in Michigan, on $85,270, is $65,444 — equivalent to $69,485 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 $90,780 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Technical Writers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $57,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $85,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $127,070 |
| This salary | $85,270 |
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 | $65,444 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,817 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,333 |
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 | $80,475 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,841 |
| 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 $85,270. The published range is $57,600 up to $127,070, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Michigan the take-home figure of $65,444, from $85,270, 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 97 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $69,485 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 97.
- Reported values are medians; for technical writers in Michigan the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $57,600 to $127,070. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Michigan is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $65,444 from $85,270. 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 97 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $69,485, worked from $85,270, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 97 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $90,780, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $57,600 at the bottom tenth to $127,070 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Michigan sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $69,485 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Michigan then takes its own share, leaving $65,444.
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 Michigan is $90,780. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($57,600) and the ninetieth ($127,070) 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?
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 $69,485 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 $65,444 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.