Tree Trimmers and Pruners in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,646
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$9,684
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,944
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$49,330
Kept after tax
$39,646
Worth in national money
$39,944
State rank
24
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Delaware is 24 of 49 states for tree trimmers and pruners, with a middle wage of $49,330. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 445 occupations Delaware reports figures for, this is number 291.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $49,330 the take-home is $39,646, which is worth about $39,944 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $56,250, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Delaware ranks 24 of 49 for tree trimmers and pruners at $49,330. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Delaware's occupational distribution, tree trimmers and pruners sits at 291 of 445 — 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.
- Delaware's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for tree trimmers and pruners on its $49,330 median: $39,646 retained after tax becomes $39,944 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $56,250 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Tree Trimmers and Pruners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,950 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,580 |
| This salary | $49,330 |
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 Delaware | $39,646 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,817 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,088 |
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 | $46,628 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,735 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
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 tree trimmers and pruners in Delaware earn under $49,330 and half over. The published range runs $47,950 at the tenth percentile to $78,580 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Delaware the take-home figure of $39,646, from $49,330, 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 291 of 445 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $39,944 uses one figure for the whole of Delaware. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 445 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 291.
- Figures are distribution medians for tree trimmers and pruners in Delaware, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,950 to $78,580; 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.
- Take-home for Delaware is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,646 from $49,330. 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 291 of 445 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $39,944, worked from $49,330, 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 Delaware address, on work sitting at 291 of 445 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 $56,250, 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?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $47,950 at the tenth percentile, $78,580 at the ninetieth.
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 $39,944.
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 Delaware adds its own income tax on top — which is why $39,646 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Delaware is $56,250. 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 ($47,950 to $78,580) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware'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 $39,944 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 $39,646 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.