Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,488
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$8,402
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,462
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — 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
$45,890
Kept after tax
$37,488
Worth in national money
$42,462
State rank
48
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Oklahoma. The middle earner gets $45,890. That is 48 of 50 states, and about 23.54% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against other work in Oklahoma, this sits in the middle: 314 of 492 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Oklahoma is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $45,890 the take-home is $37,488; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $42,462 would nationally. The average comes to $47,350, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators, Oklahoma sits in the lower band at $45,890, ranking 48 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 23.54%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators ranks 314 of 492 occupations in Oklahoma by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Oklahoma, on $45,890, is $37,488 — equivalent to $42,462 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 $47,350 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 | $35,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,040 |
| This salary | $45,890 |
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 Oklahoma | $37,488 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,053 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,274 |
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 | $43,943 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,750 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 Oklahoma earn under $45,890 and half over. The published range runs $35,250 at the tenth percentile to $63,040 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Oklahoma the take-home figure of $37,488, from $45,890, 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 314 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $42,462 uses one figure for the whole of Oklahoma. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 314.
- Figures are distribution medians for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Oklahoma, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,250 to $63,040; 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 Oklahoma is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,488 from $45,890. 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 314 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $42,462, worked from $45,890, 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 Oklahoma address, on work sitting at 314 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $47,350, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $35,250 at the tenth percentile, $63,040 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Oklahoma is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $42,462 in national terms.
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 Oklahoma adds its own income tax on top — which is why $37,488 of this wage survives to your account.
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.
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 Oklahoma is $47,350. 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 ($35,250 to $63,040) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oklahoma rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Oklahoma'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 $42,462 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 $37,488 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma 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.