Louisiana Salary Calculator 2026

Because the state median blends rural and residential work with the industrial corridor, and the corridor operates on different terms. Refinery turnarounds, LNG construction and petrochemical maintenance pay travelling craft scale plus per diem on 60-hour schedules, so a pipefitter or boilermaker's annual earnings on that circuit can be half again the published Louisiana median.

The calculator applies a Louisiana wage index (0.9×) to national BLS OEWS medians, a reference estimate, not a quote. Lake Charles scale runs above the state figure while rural markets run below it. For exact BLS state and metro medians with percentiles, use the Louisiana salary guide.

Not entirely. Louisiana withholds Flat 3% from 2025 from every paycheck, with no local wage tax on top, which costs roughly $1,950 a year on a $65,000 salary before any local layer. That is why a gross figure here is not directly comparable with one from a no-income-tax state; run both through the Louisiana paycheck calculator to compare take-home.

It varies by role: the Louisiana electrician median is about $56,870, plumbers $57,420, HVAC technicians $54,910, and pipefitters $57,420 (BLS OEWS May 2025, Louisiana-adjusted). Enter your own pay in the calculator to see your percentile against any role.

National BLS OEWS medians are multiplied by a 0.9 Louisiana factor to localise them, reflecting that Louisiana gross pay runs about 10% below the national average. Hourly figures assume 2,080 paid hours a year. It is a reference estimate, not an employer offer.

Lake Charles pays the most when LNG construction is running, roughly 6% above the state figure and far more once per diem is counted. Baton Rouge follows on petrochemical turnarounds, New Orleans tracks just above the state median on commercial and port work, and Shreveport is lowest.

The benchmark medians are base pay. Louisiana follows the federal 1.5x-after-40 standard. Turnaround and LNG work runs 6- and 7-day schedules for weeks at a time, so overtime often adds more to annual pay than the base rate difference between markets. This calculator lets you add overtime hours at 1.5x (or 2x) to model total annual pay.