Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,288
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$11,932
19.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,537
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$61,220
Kept after tax
$49,288
Worth in national money
$54,537
State rank
24
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Nebraska is 24 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $61,220. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 488 occupations Nebraska reports figures for, this is number 207.
- Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $61,220 you keep $49,288, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,537 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $60,380, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Nebraska ranks 24 of 50 for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators at $61,220. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Nebraska's occupational distribution, water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators sits at 207 of 488 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators on $61,220 is $49,288. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,537 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $60,380 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,250 |
| This salary | $61,220 |
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 Nebraska | $49,288 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,370 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,673 |
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 | $58,629 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,024 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $61,220 as a midpoint for Nebraska, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,620 and the ninetieth is $76,250 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $49,288 take-home in Nebraska comes from $61,220. 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 207 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,537 uses one figure for the whole of Nebraska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 207.
- The Nebraska median of $61,220 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,620 to $76,250. 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 $49,288, from $61,220, assumes a single Nebraska 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 207 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 24 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,537, worked from $61,220, 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 Nebraska address, on work sitting at 207 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $44,620 at the bottom tenth to $76,250 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $54,537.
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; Nebraska then takes its own share, leaving $49,288.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($44,620 to $76,250) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $54,537 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 $49,288 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.