What Loan Officers earn in St. Clair County, MI
The median pay for Loan Officers in St. Clair County, MI is $76,260 per year, which works out to $36.66 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area, the labor market that St. Clair County, MI belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $85,940, which is 12.7% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 7,200 people working in this occupation across the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. St. Clair County, MI has roughly 160,221 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Loan Officers in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $36,520 a year ($17.56 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $135,700 or more ($65.24 an hour). That is a gap of $99,180 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $50,310 at the 25th percentile and $105,620 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 3.7 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $36.66 an hour or $76,260 a year at the median for St. Clair County, MI. Before any deductions, that is $6,355 a month, $2,933 every two weeks and $1,467 each week. After taxes the same job pays $28.46 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Loan Officers
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Loan Officers this way: "Evaluate, authorize, or recommend approval of commercial, real estate, or credit loans. Advise borrowers on financial status and payment methods. Includes mortgage loan officers and agents, collection analysts, loan servicing officers, loan underwriters, and payday loan officers."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Approve loans within specified limits, and refer loan applications outside those limits to management for approval"; "Meet with applicants to obtain information for loan applications and to answer questions about the process"; "Analyze applicants' financial status, credit, and property evaluations to determine feasibility of granting loans"; "Explain to customers the different types of loans and credit options that are available, as well as the terms of those services".
Job outlook for Loan Officers
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 283,000 jobs in 2025 to 286,000 in 2035, a change of +1.1%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 17,100 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 6.0% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. Work experience in a related occupation: less than 5 years. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: moderate-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $76,690 for this occupation; the St. Clair County, MI median of $76,260 is 0.6% below it.
How pay in St. Clair County, MI compares
Compared with the Michigan average
A worker in this occupation in St. Clair County, MI earns $2,289 more than the Michigan average of $73,971, a premium of 3.1%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,289 before tax and roughly $1,777 after tax. Within Michigan, St. Clair County, MI already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
Nationally, Loan Officers earn an employment-weighted average of $76,366 across the contiguous United States, so $76,260 in St. Clair County, MI is essentially average. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in St. Clair County, MI
Among the 590 occupations with published wages in St. Clair County, MI, Loan Officers ranks number 195 by median pay, ahead of about 67% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $170,040 a year, which is $93,780 more than the median for Loan Officers.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Loan Officers earning the St. Clair County, MI median of $76,260, they add up to $17,055. The result is $59,205 of take-home pay a year ($4,934 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $22 goes to taxes and $78 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 22.4%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $60,510. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $8,226, an effective 10.8% of gross pay, well below the 22% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $4,728 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,106. FICA totals $5,834, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Michigan
Michigan income tax on this salary is $2,995 a year, or 3.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 36% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $250 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for St. Clair County, MI
IRS Statistics of Income data for St. Clair County, MI show an average adjusted gross income of $69,604 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.0% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 8.5%, compared with the 10.8% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in St. Clair County, MI
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in St. Clair County, MI: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $59,205 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For St. Clair County, MI, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,167 a month ($14,004 a year), and at $1,459 for two bedrooms. For Loan Officers, a one-bedroom absorbs 23.6% of take-home pay and 18.4% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 4.5% of gross pay for Loan Officers in St. Clair County, MI. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Michigan residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,039 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $416, for $2,455 in total. Gasoline in Michigan averages $3.10 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,436.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $21,331 a year in St. Clair County, MI. Subtract that from $59,205 of take-home pay and $37,874 remains, which is $3,156 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 49.7% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for St. Clair County, MI
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in St. Clair County, MI: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for St. Clair County, MI, set beside the Michigan and national medians.
Property taxes in St. Clair County, MI
Homeowners in St. Clair County, MI pay a median of $2,562 a year in real estate taxes, 12% below the Michigan median of $2,904 and 18% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $224,600, the median tax bill is 1.14% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Loan Officers median of $76,260, a tax bill of that size would equal 3.4% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in St. Clair County, MI
Renters in St. Clair County, MI pay a median gross rent of $1,029 a month in the Census survey, 9% below the Michigan median of $1,129. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,167 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $224,600, 3% below the Michigan median of $231,600. Median household income is $71,270, 2% below the Michigan median of $72,875, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 19.6% of that income.
Commuting in St. Clair County, MI
Workers in St. Clair County, MI who travel to a workplace spend an average of 28.5 minutes each way, 18% above the Michigan average of 24.2. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.8 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 7.7% of workers in St. Clair County, MI work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Loan Officers afford to live in St. Clair County, MI?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $76,260 that ceiling is $1,907 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,167 is $740 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $22.44 an hour; the median for Loan Officers is $36.66, which is 63% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $28.46 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 9.5 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,459 a month means $730 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $5,250 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $43,124.
How fast you can save
At $3,156 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 4 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 8 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Loan Officers pay in St. Clair County, MI
How much do Loan Officers make per hour in St. Clair County, MI?
The median is $36.66 per hour, based on $76,260 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $17.56 at the 10th percentile to $65.24 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Loan Officers take home after taxes in St. Clair County, MI?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $76,260 becomes $59,205 a year. That is $4,934 a month, $2,277 every two weeks or $1,139 a week.
How much tax do Loan Officers pay in St. Clair County, MI?
Total taxes are $17,055 a year, an effective rate of 22.4%: $8,226 federal income tax, $5,834 FICA and $2,995 Michigan income tax.
Do Loan Officers earn more in St. Clair County, MI than elsewhere in Michigan?
Yes. The local median of $76,260 is +3.1% versus the Michigan average of $73,971, a difference of $2,289 a year.
Can Loan Officers afford a one-bedroom apartment in St. Clair County, MI?
A one-bedroom costs $1,167 a month against take-home pay of $4,934, which is 23.7% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,907 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Loan Officers in St. Clair County, MI?
About $3,156 a month ($37,874 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $21,331 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in St. Clair County, MI at the 30% guideline?
$22.44 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $14,004 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Loan Officers is $36.66.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Michigan rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.