Pennsylvania Paycheck Calculator (2026)

How the Pennsylvania Paycheck Calculator: Take-Home Pay Works

This Pennsylvania paycheck calculator estimates your net pay after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, Pennsylvania's 3.07% flat personal income tax and the local earned income tax charged by your municipality and school district. Pennsylvania is unusual because it taxes almost all compensation at one flat rate with no standard deduction, so the state portion is easy to predict, while the local piece changes from town to town.

How Pennsylvania taxes paychecks

Pennsylvania levies a flat personal income tax of 3.07% on eight classes of income, including compensation, net profits and interest. The rate has been unchanged since 2004, and it is one of the lowest flat rates among states that tax wages. Unlike most states, Pennsylvania does not offer a standard deduction or personal exemption, so the 3.07% applies to nearly every dollar of taxable compensation from the first dollar earned.

The state also treats retirement contributions differently from the federal system. Employee deferrals to a traditional 401(k) or 403(b) reduce federal taxable wages but are still included in Pennsylvania taxable compensation, so your state tax does not fall when you contribute. Health insurance premiums paid through a cafeteria plan and certain other benefits are generally excluded. The calculator therefore applies the 3.07% rate to your full gross pay, which slightly overstates state tax if most of your pre-tax deductions are health premiums.

Local earned income tax: the second layer

Most Pennsylvania workers also pay a local earned income tax (EIT) that is split between the municipality and the school district. The combined rate is commonly about 1%, although many areas charge more, and the rate depends on where you live, with the work location used in some cases. Philadelphia is the well-known outlier: its city wage tax for residents has been a few percentage points, and nonresidents who work in the city pay a lower rate. Pittsburgh and other cities also have distinctive local rules.

Employers withhold the local EIT for the taxing jurisdictions that apply to you, so your rate depends on your home address and work address. The calculator has a field for your combined local rate. Leave it at 1% for a typical estimate, enter about 3.75% for Philadelphia residents, or use the exact rate on your pay stub. Many Pennsylvania workers also pay an annual Local Services Tax of up to $52 in the jurisdictions that levy it, which is not included in the calculator.

How much Pennsylvania workers earn

Pennsylvania had about 6,064,600 jobs in May 2025. The median annual wage across all of them was $49,690 ($23.89 an hour), 3% below the national median of $50,980. The average wage was higher, at $65,730, because a smaller number of high earners pull the average up; the median is the better guide to a typical paycheck.

After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and the Pennsylvania and local taxes in this calculator, a single worker on that $49,690 median takes home about $40,084 a year, or $3,340 a month and $1,541.67 every two weeks.

Wage figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Pennsylvania. Take-home pay: this page's 2026 calculator, single filer, no pre-tax deductions, default settings.

Take-home pay for Pennsylvania's most common jobs

These are the occupations with the most workers in Pennsylvania. Each row shows the median salary and what a single filer keeps after 2026 taxes in Pennsylvania.

Large occupations tend to pay below the median: 11 of these 15 pay less than the $49,690 median for all workers, which is why the overall median is lower than many people expect.

Worked example: $60,000 salary in Harrisburg

A single Pennsylvania worker earning $60,000, paid every two weeks and contributing $100 per paycheck to a traditional 401(k), has gross pay of $2,307.69. Federal taxable income after the $2,600 deferral and the $16,100 standard deduction is $41,300, and federal income tax is about $4,708. Social Security is $3,720, Medicare is $870, Pennsylvania income tax at 3.07% is $1,842 (no deduction for the 401(k)), and a 1% local EIT is $600.

Net pay comes to about $45,660 a year, or $1,756.15 per paycheck. If the same worker lived in Philadelphia with a 3.75% local wage tax, the local tax would be $2,250, and net pay would fall to about $44,010 a year, or $1,692.69 per paycheck. That gap of $1,650 a year shows how much geography can matter inside a single state.

What is not taxed in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is friendly to retirees. Social Security benefits are not taxed by the state, and distributions from qualified retirement plans such as pensions, 401(k)s and IRAs are generally exempt once you reach retirement age. That makes the state attractive to older residents even though working residents pay a flat tax on wages. Pennsylvania also does not tax unemployment compensation in the same way as wages, and there is no state tax on most gifts and inheritances between spouses, although an inheritance tax applies to certain heirs. For an employee, the biggest surprise tends to be the pre-tax retirement rule, which surprises people who move from states where a 401(k) contribution reduces state tax.

Higher-paying jobs with many openings in Pennsylvania

Among occupations with at least 9,100 workers in Pennsylvania, these have the highest median pay. Federal tax takes a larger share at these salaries, so compare the take-home column rather than the salary when weighing offers.

Occupations concentrated in Pennsylvania

A location quotient compares how common a job is locally with its share nationwide: 2.0 means twice as concentrated as the U.S. overall. These occupations stand out in Pennsylvania and say a lot about which industries hire there.

Pennsylvania pay vs. the U.S. for popular jobs

Median annual wages for well-known jobs in Pennsylvania and the United States. Pay usually tracks living costs, so a higher wage does not always mean more money left over.

What hourly jobs pay in Pennsylvania

The lowest-paid 10% of workers in Pennsylvania earn under $13.90 an hour. Common hourly jobs pay the median rates below; a 40-hour week at that rate takes home the amount shown after 2026 taxes. Check the current Pennsylvania minimum wage on the U.S. Department of Labor state minimum wage page, since several states raise it each year.

Pay by career field in Pennsylvania

BLS groups every job into broad career fields. Here is how many people work in each across Pennsylvania, the field's median salary and what that salary takes home in Pennsylvania. Management pays the most at a median of $116,330; food preparation and serving related pays the least at $30,770.

How pay grows with experience in Pennsylvania

The median hides a wide range. The lowest-paid 10% in a job are often new to it, while the top 10% are usually experienced, specialized or in management. The ranges below for common Pennsylvania jobs show how much room there is to grow, with take-home pay at each level.

Pennsylvania take-home pay at three salaries

These estimates assume a single filer, no pre-tax deductions, a 1% combined local earned income tax and the 2026 federal standard deduction.

• $40,000: federal income tax about $2,620, FICA $3,060, Pennsylvania tax $1,228 and 1% local tax $400, for total taxes near $7,308 and take-home pay of about $32,692 a year ($1,257.38 per biweekly paycheck).
• $60,000: federal income tax about $5,020, FICA $4,590, Pennsylvania tax $1,842 and 1% local tax $600, for total taxes near $12,052 and take-home pay of about $47,948 a year ($1,844.15 per biweekly paycheck).
• $90,000: federal income tax about $10,970, FICA $6,885, Pennsylvania tax $2,763 and 1% local tax $900, for total taxes near $21,518 and take-home pay of about $68,482 a year ($2,633.92 per biweekly paycheck).

Because Pennsylvania has no standard deduction, the state tax grows in a straight line with income, while the federal tax grows faster because of its brackets. If your local rate is higher, adjust the calculator field to see the effect on each paycheck.

Other Pennsylvania payroll items

• Unemployment contribution. Pennsylvania employees pay a small contribution to the state unemployment system through payroll, a fraction of a percent of gross wages.
• Local Services Tax. Some municipalities charge up to $52 a year, usually withheld in small amounts.
• Paid leave. Pennsylvania has no statewide employee-funded paid family leave deduction.
• Reciprocity. Pennsylvania has reciprocal agreements with several neighboring states, including Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, so residents commuting across these borders can avoid double withholding by filing the right forms.

Pennsylvania tax versus neighboring states

A flat 3.07% is competitive with most states that tax wages. Compared with New Jersey and Maryland, which use graduated rates, a middle-income worker in Pennsylvania often pays less in state income tax, but local EIT narrows the gap. Compared with Ohio and Michigan, Pennsylvania has no exemption to soften the first dollars earned. The right comparison uses combined state and local tax, property tax and cost of living. Run the same salary through our paycheck calculator with different state rates, and read about all zero-tax options in states with no income tax.

Checking your Pennsylvania pay stub in five steps

1. Multiply your gross wages by 0.0307 and compare the result with the state income tax line.
2. Look for one or two local lines, often labeled EIT or local wage tax, and confirm the rates match your home and work municipality.
3. Verify Social Security at 6.2% and Medicare at 1.45% of taxable FICA wages.
4. Check for a small local services tax and the unemployment contribution, which appear in some pay periods only.
5. Confirm federal withholding matches the filing status on your W-4.

If anything looks wrong, ask your payroll department to explain the local jurisdiction codes, since incorrect codes are among the most common causes of errors for Pennsylvania employees who recently moved or changed jobs.

Common mistakes on Pennsylvania paychecks

• Expecting a 401(k) to reduce PA tax. It does not; only federal tax falls.
• Using the wrong local rate. Look at your last pay stub or the state's local tax lookup for the exact percentage.
• Forgetting the local piece when comparing job offers. Two offers at the same salary can differ by hundreds of dollars a year.
• Not filing residency forms after a move. Local taxes follow your address.
• Ignoring the W-4. Adjust federal withholding with the W-4 calculator.

How to keep more of your Pennsylvania pay

Use pre-tax benefits that Pennsylvania also respects, such as health insurance premiums and HSA contributions where allowed, to reduce both federal and state tax. Take full advantage of a 401(k) match even though it does not reduce PA tax, because the federal tax savings and employer match are still valuable. Keep an eye on your local EIT jurisdiction if you move within the state. Finally, review your withholding each year using the federal income tax calculator and the guide to reading your paycheck stub.

Key takeaways

• Pennsylvania has a flat 3.07% personal income tax with no standard deduction.
• Traditional 401(k) deferrals do not reduce Pennsylvania taxable pay.
• Local earned income tax commonly adds about 1%, and more in some cities such as Philadelphia.
• Retirement income is generally exempt from state tax after retirement age.
• Enter your exact local rate for the best estimate.

Rent and a budget on a typical Pennsylvania salary

On the $49,690 median, the common guideline of spending no more than 30% of gross pay on housing allows rent of about $1,242 a month. Using the 50/30/20 rule on the $3,340 monthly take-home pay, that is about $1,670 for needs such as rent, food and transport, $1,002 for wants and $668 for savings and debt payments.

If rents run above $1,242 for the home you want, the usual fixes are a roommate, a longer commute or a second income in the household; the rent affordability calculator tests your own numbers.