Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,699
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$12,591
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,261
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$61,290
Kept after tax
$48,699
Worth in national money
$51,261
State rank
23
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $61,290, ranking 23 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 487 occupations Utah reports figures for, this is number 215.
- Utah is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $61,290 the take-home is $48,699; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $51,261 would nationally. The average comes to $61,930, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Utah occupies the middle band for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators: a median of $61,290, ranking 23 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Utah's occupational distribution, water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators sits at 215 of 487 — 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 Utah, on $61,290, is $48,699 — equivalent to $51,261 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 $61,930 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 | $45,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,290 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,860 |
| This salary | $61,290 |
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 Utah | $48,699 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,427 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,660 |
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 | $57,896 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,008 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Utah earn less than $61,290. The published range is $45,710 up to $79,860, 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 Utah's $48,699, worked from $61,290. 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 215 of 487.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,261 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 215.
- Reported values are medians; for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators in Utah the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,710 to $79,860. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Utah take-home of $48,699, on $61,290 for work ranking 215 of 487 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 215 of 487 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,261, worked from $61,290, 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 Utah address, on work sitting at 215 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $45,710 at the bottom tenth to $79,860 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 $51,261.
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 Utah's own levy, $48,699 remains.
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 ($45,710 to $79,860) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $51,261 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 $48,699 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.