Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,336
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$11,004
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,786
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$61,340
Kept after tax
$50,336
Worth in national money
$49,786
State rank
22
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Arizona pays this job around $61,340 at the midpoint, 22 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Arizona reports figures for, this is number 219.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $61,340, tax leaves $50,336, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $49,786 in comparable terms. Here the average runs under the middle, at $61,160.
- For water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators the Arizona median is $61,340, ranking 22 of 50 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.
- In Arizona's occupational distribution, water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators sits at 219 of 491 — 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.
- Because Arizona sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators — median $61,340 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $50,336 retained, $49,786 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $61,160 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,340 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,040 |
| This salary | $61,340 |
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 Arizona | $50,336 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,467 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,177 |
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 | $59,932 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,843 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arizona earn less than $61,340. The published range is $46,690 up to $80,040, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $50,336 take-home in Arizona comes from $61,340. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 219 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,786 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 219.
- Reported values are medians; for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,690 to $80,040. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $50,336, from $61,340, assumes a single Arizona filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 219 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,786, worked from $61,340, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 219 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $46,690 and the top tenth $80,040, so most people doing this work in Arizona sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $49,786 — 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 Arizona adds its own income tax on top — which is why $50,336 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 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($46,690 to $80,040) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $49,786 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 $50,336 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.