Technical Writers in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,728
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$18,542
23.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,975
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
$80,270
Kept after tax
$61,728
Worth in national money
$64,975
State rank
30
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah sits in the middle of the pack for technical writers. The median is $80,270, ranking 30 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 487 occupations Utah reports, technical writers comes in at 114 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $80,270 you keep $61,728 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $64,975 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $85,950, since top earners drag the number up.
- Utah occupies the middle band for technical writers: a median of $80,270, ranking 30 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.
- Technical writers ranks 114 of 487 occupations by median in Utah, 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.
- Retained pay in Utah is $61,728 after the full tax stack, from $80,270. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $64,975 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $85,950 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Technical Writers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $132,590 |
| This salary | $80,270 |
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 Utah | $61,728 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,300 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,223 |
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 | $75,192 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,071 |
| 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 $80,270. The published range is $50,610 up to $132,590, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $61,728, from $80,270, 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 114 of 487 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $64,975, the adjusted value of that $80,270 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 114 of 487 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for technical writers in Utah the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $50,610 to $132,590. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $61,728 from $80,270. 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 114 of 487 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $64,975 — the adjusted value of that $80,270 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 114 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 $85,950, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $50,610 at the bottom tenth to $132,590 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 Utah sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $64,975 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Utah's own levy, $61,728 remains.
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 Utah is $85,950. 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 ($50,610) and the ninetieth ($132,590) 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?
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 $64,975 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 $61,728 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.
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.