Tire Repairers and Changers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,340
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$6,340
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$29,614
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$39,680
Kept after tax
$33,340
Worth in national money
$29,614
State rank
16
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays tire repairers and changers a middle wage of $39,680, ranking 16 of 50 states and sitting about 5.22% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in California, this one sits low: 461 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $39,680, tax leaves $33,340 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $29,614 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $43,550, since top earners drag the number up.
- California's median for tire repairers and changers is $39,680, about 5.22% above the national figure and 16 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Tire repairers and changers occupies position 461 of 492 in California's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After tax, $33,340 remains from the California median of $39,680 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $29,614 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $43,550 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Tire Repairers and Changers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,140 |
| This salary | $39,680 |
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 California | $33,340 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,063 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,439 |
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 | $38,780 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,578 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
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 tire repairers and changers in California earn under $39,680 and half over. The published range runs $35,790 at the tenth percentile to $58,140 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 California's $33,340, worked from $39,680. 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 461 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $29,614, the adjusted value of that $39,680 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 461 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for tire repairers and changers in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,790 to $58,140; 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 California take-home of $33,340, on $39,680 for work ranking 461 of 492 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 461 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $29,614 — the adjusted value of that $39,680 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 461 of 492 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 $43,550, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $35,790 at the bottom tenth to $58,140 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $29,614 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $33,340 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 California is $43,550. 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 ($35,790 to $58,140) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $29,614 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 $33,340 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.