Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,233
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$16,127
21.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,829
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
$74,360
Kept after tax
$58,233
Worth in national money
$61,829
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Michigan sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $74,360, ranking 20 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Michigan reports figures for, this is number 153.
- Michigan is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $74,360 the take-home is $58,233; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $61,829 would nationally. The average lands at $69,350, below the middle of the range.
- Michigan occupies the middle band for telecommunications line installers and repairers: a median of $74,360, ranking 20 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Michigan's occupational distribution, telecommunications line installers and repairers sits at 153 of 493 — 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.
- Post-tax income for telecommunications line installers and repairers in Michigan, on $74,360, is $58,233 — equivalent to $61,829 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 $69,350 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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 | $47,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,360 |
| Top tenth earn over | $84,450 |
| This salary | $74,360 |
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 | $58,233 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,142 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,091 |
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 | $70,224 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,507 |
| 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 $74,360. The published range is $47,440 up to $84,450, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Michigan the take-home figure of $58,233, from $74,360, 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 153 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Michigan, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $61,829, the adjusted value of that $74,360 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 153 of 493 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for telecommunications line installers and repairers in Michigan the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,440 to $84,450. 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 $58,233 from $74,360. 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 153 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Michigan, so $61,829 — the adjusted value of that $74,360 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 153 of 493 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 $69,350, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $47,440 and the top tenth $84,450, so most people doing this work in Michigan sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $61,829.
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 $58,233.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 $69,350. 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 ($47,440 to $84,450) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
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 $61,829 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 $58,233 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.
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.