Transportation Security Screeners in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,669
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$13,101
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,318
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$63,770
Kept after tax
$50,669
Worth in national money
$56,318
State rank
24
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Alabama pays this job around $63,770 at the midpoint, 24 of 45 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 154 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $63,770 you keep $50,669 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $56,318 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $63,390.
- For transportation security screeners the Alabama median is $63,770, ranking 24 of 45 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Position 154 of 482 in Alabama places transportation security screeners in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay in Alabama is $50,669 after the full tax stack, from $63,770. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $56,318 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $63,390 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Transportation Security Screeners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,110 |
| This salary | $63,770 |
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 Alabama | $50,669 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,419 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,346 |
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 | $60,348 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,628 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $63,770. The published range is $49,940 up to $72,110, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $50,669, from $63,770, 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 154 of 482 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $56,318 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 154.
- Reported values are medians; for transportation security screeners in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $49,940 to $72,110. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $50,669 from $63,770. 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 154 of 482 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $56,318, worked from $63,770, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 154 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $49,940 and the top tenth $72,110, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $56,318 in national terms.
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; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $50,669.
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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($49,940 to $72,110) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $56,318 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 $50,669 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.