Tool and Die Makers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,931
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$17,099
22.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,233
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
$77,030
Kept after tax
$59,931
Worth in national money
$53,233
State rank
5
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for tool and die makers. The middle earner takes $77,030, which ranks 5 of 45 states with published figures. That is about 20.27% above the national middle.
- Against other work in California, this sits in the middle: 215 of 492 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $77,030, tax leaves $59,931 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $53,233 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $75,120.
- California ranks 5 of 45 states publishing a median for tool and die makers, at $77,030 — about 20.27% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Tool and die makers ranks 215 of 492 occupations in California by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After tax, $59,931 remains from the California median of $77,030 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $53,233 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $75,120 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Tool and Die Makers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $104,260 |
| This salary | $77,030 |
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 | $59,931 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,021 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,619 |
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 | $72,638 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,363 |
| 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 tool and die makers in California earn under $77,030 and half over. The published range runs $45,710 at the tenth percentile to $104,260 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 $59,931, worked from $77,030. 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 215 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $53,233, the adjusted value of that $77,030 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 215 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for tool and die makers in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,710 to $104,260; 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 $59,931, on $77,030 for work ranking 215 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 215 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $53,233 — the adjusted value of that $77,030 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 215 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $45,710, the highest tenth $104,260, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $53,233 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; California then takes its own share, leaving $59,931.
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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($45,710) and the ninetieth ($104,260) 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?
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 $53,233 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 $59,931 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.