US Salary Calculator

To ensure our US take-home pay calculator is as easy to use as possible, we have to make a few assumptions about your personal circumstances, such as that you have no dependents and are not married. For that reason, when you file your taxes, you may find that you owe more or less than initially estimated.

For a gross annual income of $72,020, our US tax calculator projects a tax liability of $1,370 per month, approximately 23% of your paycheck. The table below breaks down the taxes and contributions levied on these employment earnings in California.

One benchmark for determining a "good" salary is your area's median salary. In the United States, the median annual salary is $46,301 before taxes, so if you make more than that, you're already among the top half of earners nation-wide. However, you need to factor in the median earnings and cost of living in your state.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) published a 2022 report listing the median hourly wage in each state. Assuming a 40-hour work week, we derived the median annual salaries and compiled them together with the corresponding after-tax figures estimated by our calculator. It's important to note that the BLS report included both part-time and full-time employees, so we can expect the median salary of only full-time workers to be higher.

Remember, a good salary is one that lets you live comfortably in your area. Depending on where you live in the US, the same salary could afford very different lifestyles — there's a big gap between small-town living and the cost of living in major cities like Chicago or New York.

The average annual salary in the United States is $72,020, which is around $4,632 a month after taxes and contributions, depending on where you live. However, extremely high earners tend to bias averages. Likewise, average salaries vary state-by-state, such as California's salaries averaging $83,252 a year compared to Florida's at $63,440.

We derived these annual salary figures from a 2022 BLS report that released the average weekly earnings across the US. Just like before, the BLS included part-time and full-time workers in their data, so the national average salary of just full-time workers would probably be higher than $72,020.

Why was the median salary $46,301 while the average is $72,020? Sky-high incomes lifted the average salary up by over $25,000! That is why median figures tend to represent more closely what most people make. With that disclaimer, you can find the average salaries for the largest US states listed in the table below, or estimate your own salary after tax with our US take-home pay calculator.

The federal minimum wage in the US is $7.25, which is $15,080 annually, assuming full-time employment and a 40-hour work week. However, each state sets its own minimum hourly wage so long as it exceeds the federal standard, such as California, which enforces a $15.50 minimum wage.

These figures come from the Department of Labor's 2023 Minimum Wage report, from which we've derived yearly salaries and organized them into the following table. Note that minimum wage is still subject to federal and state income tax and payroll taxes. To quickly estimate your take-home pay, you can use our US salary calculator, which takes into account all of these taxes, regardless of which state you live in.

Most employers deduct approximate payroll and income taxes from employee paychecks. Payroll taxes include contributions to Social Security and Medicare, while income tax is withheld according to the W-4 form supplied by the employee. For the 2023 tax year, you must file a return if you're single and earning more than $13,850, or married and jointly filing more than $27,700.

In other words, the Internal Revenue System (IRS), which is the tax authority in the United States, has a pretty good idea about what you owe in taxes. But, come tax day, you still have to file a return, factoring in personal circumstances and claiming deductions. Then, the IRS decides if they've withheld too much of your income in tax, earning a refund, or too little, requiring additional payments.

United States citizens can expect their taxes to include four major expenses: Federal income tax, State tax, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax. Our calculator takes all four of them into account.

• Federal Income Tax is collected by the federal government and must be paid no matter where you live in the United States. As a progressive tax, individuals with higher incomes can expect to pay higher tax rates. Tax rates are organized in seven brackets ranging from 10% to 37%. To account for inflation, a federal standard deduction is released for each tax year, which lowers your taxable income.
• State Tax is collected by state governments and is paid in addition to federal tax. There's no universal method for state tax — each state chooses its own rates. As such, state tax can be calculated according to a progressive rate, flat rate, or simply not collected at all.
• Social Security Tax is paid through payroll taxes to support retirement benefits, benefits for widows and widowers, and disability benefits. As of 2023, employers and employees are subject to a 6.2% rate on earnings capped at $160,200. Additional earnings are not taxed. Self-employed individuals must pay the full 12.4% rate, covering both the employee and employer portions.
• Medicare Tax is paid through payroll taxes to provide health insurance to people who are 64 years or older, anyone with disabilities, or anyone with terminal diseases. As of 2023, Medicare tax is 2.9%, but it's split between employers and employees, each of whom pays 1.45%. Earnings above $200,000 for single filers are taxed an additional 0.9%, without splitting the surcharge with the employer.