I live in CA and make almost $62k/year, but only take home $3,270/month. Why is my takehome so low?

Taxes. Union dues.

It should be $3,864 according to this paychecker site. It gives a pretty good breakdown of how you should be taxed.

Check your copy of the pay stub. It will tell you exactly what is being taken out: probably health insurance co-fees, plus state and Federal taxes, SSI, etc. You can calculate your monthly from your pay stub.

After checking your own figures, you can go talk to HR and see if there is anything you are calculating wrong.

Do you usually get a significant refund when you file your income tax return? If yes, you’re having extra amounts withheld throughout the year. Your paycheck stub should list your number of withholding allowances.

I hate to ask the obvious, but are you also having a 401-k plan taken out?

…..Thank Jerry Brown

Be sure to take these facts into consideration: There are 52 weeks in a year. If you figure that there are four weeks in a month, you need to consider that there are 13 months in a year, not 12. (52 divided by 4 =13)
62,000 divided by 13 =4769.2307
Multiply that by .7 (amount they might take out for federal and state income tax = approx. .3)
3338.4614, a difference of $68.46
Sounds about right!

Is CA Canada or California?

High taxes.

Did you account for health care and dental? As @janbb suggested, check your paystub.

National Avg of take home percentage for each earned dollar is 33%

62k X 33% = 20,460
62k – 20460 = 41,540
41,540/12 = 3,461

So, you are pretty close. But Cali has a lot of social programs and your taxes might be bumping that percentage up.

I had to smile at the 3,270 monthly takehome being considered low. As, in my state, that would be quite high. Everything is relative, I guess.

@dennyboy39

I thought it was high to begin with, back when I lived month to month with no care of upward progress… But I don’t anymore.

If you want a fun glimpse into rental prices here, go check out the “rent” section of zillow.com, set the max price at $1250 to start, then search Oceanside and Vista. If you think that’s unnecessarily coastal, try searching San Marcos and Escondido.

They say rent should be ⅓ your income. $1250 gets me a whole 400–710 sqft apartment. Not exactly the life I was hoping for at 32 years old…