Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,317
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$12,553
20.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$47,436
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$61,870
Kept after tax
$49,317
Worth in national money
$47,436
State rank
19
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Maryland is 19 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $61,870. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Maryland reports figures for, this is number 252.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $61,870 the take-home is $49,317. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $47,436 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $64,570, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maryland ranks 19 of 50 for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators at $61,870. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Maryland's occupational distribution, water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators sits at 252 of 489 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $49,317 for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators, from $61,870. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $47,436. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $64,570 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,990 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $88,970 |
| This salary | $61,870 |
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 Maryland | $49,317 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,893 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,965 |
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 | $58,665 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,214 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $61,870 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,990 and the ninetieth is $88,970 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $49,317 take-home in Maryland comes from $61,870. 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 252 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maryland, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $47,436, the adjusted value of that $61,870 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 252 of 489 in the state.
- The Maryland median of $61,870 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,990 to $88,970. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $49,317, from $61,870, assumes a single Maryland 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 252 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 19 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maryland, so $47,436 — the adjusted value of that $61,870 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 252 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $64,570, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $44,990 at the bottom tenth to $88,970 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $47,436 — 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 Maryland adds its own income tax on top — which is why $49,317 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.
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 Maryland is $64,570. 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 ($44,990 to $88,970) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $47,436 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 $49,317 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.