Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,941
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$8,039
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,888
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$44,980
Kept after tax
$36,941
Worth in national money
$37,888
State rank
20
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $44,980, ranking 20 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Pennsylvania, this one sits low: 378 of 492 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $44,980, tax leaves $36,941, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $37,888 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $45,550, since top earners drag the number up.
- Pennsylvania occupies the middle band for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing: a median of $44,980, ranking 20 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing occupies position 378 of 492 in Pennsylvania's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Because Pennsylvania sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing — median $44,980 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $36,941 retained, $37,888 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $45,550 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,960 |
| This salary | $44,980 |
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 Pennsylvania | $36,941 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,321 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,548 |
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 | $43,261 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,872 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $44,980. The published range is $36,060 up to $60,960, 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 Pennsylvania's $36,941, worked from $44,980. 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 378 of 492.
- Two cautions on $37,888, the adjusted value of that $44,980 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Pennsylvania. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 378 of 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,060 to $60,960. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Pennsylvania take-home of $36,941, on $44,980 for work ranking 378 of 492 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 378 of 492 in the state.
- This $37,888 adjusted figure, worked from $44,980, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 378 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 378 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,060 and the top tenth $60,960, so most people doing this work in Pennsylvania sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $37,888 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $36,941.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($36,060 to $60,960) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $37,888 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 $36,941 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.