Alabama · BLS May 2025

Laborer or Material Mover Salary in Alabama

Also called warehouse worker, freight handler. SOC 53-7062.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 36,140 laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand working in Alabama. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal, state and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.

Median pay · Alabama

$36,670A year, or $17.63 an hour.
Take-home a month$2,513After federal, state and FICA tax at 17.8%
Worth at national prices$41,284Prices here sit at 88.8 against 100
Against the nation8.9% belowNational median $40,240
What laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand earn in Alabama, May 2025
PercentileAnnualHourly
10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid$26,850$12.91
25th percentile$30,700$14.76
MedianHalf earn more, half less$36,670$17.63
75th percentile$44,170$21.24
90th percentileMost experienced and senior$47,910$23.04
MeanThe average, pulled up by the top$37,480$18.02
How we got this
  1. Median wage in AlabamaBLS OEWS May 2025. Half of laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand earned more than this, half less.$36,670
  2. Median hourly wagePublished separately by BLS, not divided out of the annual figure.$17.63
  3. Take-home after federal, state and FICA tax$2,513 a month at an effective rate of 17.8%.$30,162 a year
  4. Worth at national average pricesPrices in Alabama sit at 88.8 against a national 100 (BEA, 2024).$41,284
  5. Against the national medianThe national median is $40,240.8.9% below
  6. Jobs countedA concentration of 0.9 against the nation's 1.00.36,140
What we assumed
  • Wages are BLS OEWS survey estimates for May 2025, not job postings or offers.
  • OEWS surveys wage and salary workers. The self-employed and business owners are outside it.
  • Take-home assumes one 2026 filer, filing single, taking the standard deduction, with no dependents, pre-tax retirement contributions or local income tax.
  • Regional price parities compare price levels between places in one year. They are not inflation, and they do not adjust for what a household actually buys.
Technical details

Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1

What lands in the bank

A $36,670 salary in Alabama, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.

  • Federal income tax. $2,220 a year.
  • State income tax. $1,482 a year.
  • Social Security and Medicare. $2,805 a year.
  • Left over. $30,162 a year, $2,513 a month, an effective rate of 17.8%.

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What $36,670 is worth in Alabama

Prices in Alabama sit at 88.8 against a national average of 100, so $36,670 earned here buys what $41,284 buys at national average prices.

  • Rents. 61.8 against 100, the component that moves most between states.
  • Against local households. The median household in Alabama takes in $63,999, so this occupation's median is 0.57 times that, on one income.
  • How common the job is here. 10% less concentrated in Alabama than in the country as a whole.

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Common questions

Laborer or Material Mover pay in Alabama, answered

How much does a laborer or material mover make in Alabama?

The median wage for laborers or material movers in Alabama is $36,670 a year, or $17.63 an hour.

Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.

What is the take-home pay for a laborer or material mover in Alabama?

On the median wage of $36,670, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $30,162 a year, or roughly $2,513 a month.

That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 17.8%.

Alabama takes $1,482 of it in state income tax.

Do laborers or material movers earn more in Alabama than in the rest of the country?

No. The median in Alabama is 8.9% below the national median of $40,240.

Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in Alabama sit at 88.8 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.

Is $36,670 a good salary in Alabama?

It is 0.57 times the median household income of $63,999. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.

Prices in Alabama run at 88.8 against a national average of 100, with rents at 61.8, so $36,670 here buys about what $41,284 buys at national average prices.

What do the highest-paid laborers or material movers earn in Alabama?

The top tenth earn $47,910 a year or more, against $26,850 at the bottom tenth.

Experience, specialism, employer and the part of Alabama someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.

How many laborers or material movers are there in Alabama?

The survey counted 36,140 of these jobs in Alabama for May 2025.

That makes the occupation 10% less concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.

Sources

Where this data comes from