Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$42,217
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$9,993
19.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$46,177
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$52,210
Kept after tax
$42,217
Worth in national money
$46,177
State rank
35
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Idaho. The middle earner gets $52,210. That is 35 of 50 states, and about 13.01% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 476 occupations Idaho reports figures for, this is number 255.
- Idaho is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $52,210 the take-home is $42,217; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $46,177 would nationally. The average comes to $55,060, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators, Idaho sits in the lower band at $52,210, ranking 35 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 13.01%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Idaho's occupational distribution, water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators sits at 255 of 476 — 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.
- Post-tax income for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Idaho, on $52,210, is $42,217 — equivalent to $46,177 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $55,060 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $52,210 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,950 |
| This salary | $52,210 |
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 Idaho | $42,217 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $44,131 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$763 |
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 | $49,828 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$923 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
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 water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Idaho earn under $52,210 and half over. The published range runs $40,820 at the tenth percentile to $74,950 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Idaho the take-home figure of $42,217, from $52,210, 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 255 of 476 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $46,177 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 255.
- Figures are distribution medians for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $40,820 to $74,950; 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 Idaho is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $42,217 from $52,210. 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 255 of 476 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $46,177, worked from $52,210, 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 Idaho address, on work sitting at 255 of 476 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 $55,060, 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 — $40,820 at the tenth percentile, $74,950 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Idaho sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $46,177 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Idaho's own levy, $42,217 remains.
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 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Idaho is $55,060. 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 ($40,820 to $74,950) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $46,177 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 $42,217 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.