Sacramento paycheck calculator (2026)
Sacramento follows the California state minimum wage of $16.90/hr, no city-specific minimum. Distinctive labor market: state government (CalPERS pension + Savings Plus 401k/457b stack), UC Davis Health, Intel manufacturing in Folsom. Lower cost of living than coastal California.
Tax outcomes depend on your specific situation. This page summarises 2026 published guidance from the California Department of Industrial Relations, the California FTB, CalPERS, and the BLS OEWS. State employees with CalPERS pension and Savings Plus 401k/457(b) stacks should consult a financial planner familiar with PEPRA and California public-sector retirement.
Sacramento: state-government anchored, lower cost of living
Sacramento's labor market is heavily anchored by California state government. The State Capitol, the dozens of agency headquarters (Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Health Care Services, Caltrans, Department of Education, etc.), the California Highway Patrol HQ, and the CalPERS / CalSTRS investment offices employ tens of thousands of state employees concentrated in downtown and midtown Sacramento. UC Davis Health, located in the Sacramento metro, is another major employer with several thousand healthcare workers. Intel's manufacturing facility in Folsom (eastern Sacramento County) employs several thousand semiconductor workers. The remainder of Sacramento's labor market is healthcare, education, retail, and professional services, broadly typical of mid-size U.S. metros.
Sacramento's defining advantage from a take-home perspective is cost of living. Taxes are identical across California cities, so the difference shows up in rent: a worker earning $75,000 (monthly take-home of about $4,816) can spend about $1,875 a month under the conventional 30%-of-gross guide, and that budget generally goes further in Sacramento County than in the Bay Area. The Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 OEWS shows the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro median wage at $59,750 across all occupations, slightly above the California statewide median of $58,240.
Sacramento take-home table
| Annual gross | Federal tax | CA state tax | Annual take-home | Biweekly net | ETR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,620 | $706 | $33,094 | $1,273 | 17.3% |
| $55,000 | $4,420 | $1,431 | $44,226 | $1,701 | 19.6% |
| $70,000 | $6,570 | $2,423 | $54,742 | $2,105 | 21.8% |
| $85,000 | $9,870 | $3,674 | $63,849 | $2,456 | 24.9% |
| $100,000 | $13,170 | $5,069 | $72,811 | $2,800 | 27.2% |
| $120,000 | $17,570 | $6,929 | $84,761 | $3,260 | 29.4% |
| $150,000 | $24,734 | $9,719 | $102,122 | $3,928 | 31.9% |
CalPERS, PEPRA, and the Savings Plus stack for state workers
California state employees in Sacramento have a distinctive retirement plan stack. The defined-benefit foundation is CalPERS, the California Public Employees' Retirement System. Employees contribute a percentage of pay, set by classification, bargaining unit and tier, as a pre-tax payroll deduction to fund the pension. PEPRA (Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013) created a new tier with lower benefit factors for employees hired after January 1, 2013. Because the state picks up member contributions under IRC 414(h)(2), CalPERS contributions are deferred from both federal and California income tax.
On top of the CalPERS pension, state workers can contribute to Savings Plus, the state-administered 401(k) and 457(b) deferred compensation plans. The 2026 IRS contribution limit is $24,500 each (with $8,000 catch-up for age 50+). Workers can contribute to BOTH the 401(k) and the 457(b), allowing total deferral up to $49,000 of pre-tax federal taxable income annually (or $65,000 with catch-up). The 457(b) has a unique feature: penalty-free withdrawals upon separation from service regardless of age, making it a useful early-retirement bridge vehicle. California Savings Plus has both pre-tax and Roth options for both the 401(k) and 457(b). Pre-tax contributions reduce both federal and California taxable income, because California follows the federal treatment of 401(k) and governmental 457(b) deferrals. Roth contributions reduce neither in the contribution year.
For a $100,000 California state employee maxing both Savings Plus pre-tax 401(k) ($24,500) and 457(b) ($24,500), federal and California taxable income both drop by $49,000, saving approximately $9,230 in federal income tax (mostly at 22%, the rest at 12%) and $3,878 in California income tax, before counting the CalPERS pension contribution, which is pre-tax on both returns too. The worker builds both pension entitlement and Savings Plus assets. The mechanics for $100k-$130k California earners: $100k after taxes, $130k after taxes.
Compare Sacramento with other California metros
Sacramento paycheck, common questions
Sacramento paycheck calculations on this page reflect 2026 published rates from the California FTB, IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, the California DIR, CalPERS member benefit publications, and BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). State employees with CalPERS + Savings Plus retirement stacks should consult a financial planner familiar with PEPRA and California public-sector retirement.