Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$45,316
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$11,024
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,567
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$56,340
Kept after tax
$45,316
Worth in national money
$49,567
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $56,340, ranking 46 of 51 states — about 24.2% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 476 occupations Idaho reports figures for, this is number 233.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $56,340 you keep $45,316, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $49,567 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $57,290, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Idaho ranks 46 of 51 for telecommunications line installers and repairers, with a median of $56,340 — about 24.2% 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.
- In Idaho's occupational distribution, telecommunications line installers and repairers sits at 233 of 476 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for telecommunications line installers and repairers on $56,340 is $45,316. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $49,567 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 $57,290 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $56,340 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,170 |
| This salary | $56,340 |
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 Idaho | $45,316 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,449 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$738 |
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 | $53,686 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$893 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of telecommunications line installers and repairers in Idaho earn under $56,340 and half over. The published range runs $45,070 at the tenth percentile to $77,170 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Idaho's $45,316, worked from $56,340. 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 233 of 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,567 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 233.
- Figures are distribution medians for telecommunications line installers and repairers in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,070 to $77,170; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Idaho take-home of $45,316, on $56,340 for work ranking 233 of 476 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 233 of 476 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,567, worked from $56,340, 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 Idaho address, on work sitting at 233 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $45,070 at the bottom tenth to $77,170 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Idaho is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $49,567 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 Idaho's own levy, $45,316 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($45,070 to $77,170) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $49,567 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 $45,316 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.