Technical Writers in Oregon
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,124
after federal, FICA and Oregon tax
Tax takes
$22,876
27.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,369
Oregon costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oregon — 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
$84,000
Kept after tax
$61,124
Worth in national money
$58,369
State rank
23
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Oregon sits in the middle of the pack for technical writers. The median is $84,000, ranking 23 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Technical writers ranks 139 among 489 occupations Oregon publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $84,000 the take-home is $61,124. But Oregon costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $58,369 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $95,890, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Oregon occupies the middle band for technical writers: a median of $84,000, ranking 23 of 45. 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 139 of 489 in Oregon places technical writers 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 after federal, FICA and Oregon income tax is $61,124 for technical writers, from $84,000. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $58,369. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $95,890 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 | $58,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $150,220 |
| This salary | $84,000 |
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 Oregon | $61,124 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,924 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,530 |
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 | $74,334 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,927 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 105 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Oregon earn less than $84,000. The published range is $58,990 up to $150,220, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Oregon the take-home figure of $61,124, from $84,000, 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 139 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Oregon, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $58,369, the adjusted value of that $84,000 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 139 of 489 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for technical writers in Oregon the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $58,990 to $150,220. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Oregon is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $61,124 from $84,000. 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 139 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Oregon, so $58,369 — the adjusted value of that $84,000 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 139 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $95,890, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $58,990 and the top tenth $150,220 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Oregon costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $58,369 rather than its face figure.
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 Oregon adds its own income tax on top — which is why $61,124 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Oregon is $95,890. 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 ($58,990) and the ninetieth ($150,220) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Oregon's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $58,369 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $61,124 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oregon 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.