Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,318
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$14,242
21.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,250
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$65,560
Kept after tax
$51,318
Worth in national money
$47,250
State rank
11
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Hawaii's middle earner gets $65,560, putting the state 11 of 50 — about 9.23% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 437 occupations Hawaii reports figures for, this is number 197.
- Hawaii is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $65,560 the take-home is $51,318; in national-average money that behaves like $47,250. The average lands at $64,550, below the middle of the range.
- For water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators, Hawaii sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $65,560, ranking 11 of 50 and running about 9.23% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Hawaii's occupational distribution, water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators sits at 197 of 437 — 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.
- Take-home for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Hawaii, on $65,560, is $51,318; deflated by the state's price level, $47,250. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $64,550 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $82,680 |
| This salary | $65,560 |
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 Hawaii | $51,318 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,857 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,202 |
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 | $61,155 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,129 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Hawaii earn less than $65,560. The published range is $46,900 up to $82,680, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Hawaii's $51,318, worked from $65,560. 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 197 of 437.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $47,250 uses one figure for the whole of Hawaii. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 437 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 197.
- Reported values are medians; for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Hawaii the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,900 to $82,680. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Hawaii take-home of $51,318, on $65,560 for work ranking 197 of 437 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 197 of 437 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $47,250, worked from $65,560, 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 Hawaii address, on work sitting at 197 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $46,900 at the tenth percentile, $82,680 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $47,250 of national purchasing power.
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; Hawaii then takes its own share, leaving $51,318.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($46,900 to $82,680) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $47,250 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 $51,318 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.