Car Wash Operator Pay and Health Insurance in Oklahoma (2027)

Q: How much does a car wash operator make in Oklahoma?

The BLS median wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in Oklahoma is $30,100 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $23,550. The middle half earn $26,990 to $35,460, and the top 10% more than $43,520. BLS counts about 5,120 people doing this work for an employer in Oklahoma. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.

Wage benchmark and the 2027 subsidy cliff

$30,100median annual wage, Car Wash Operators in Oklahoma

189%of the federal poverty level

$63,8402027 subsidy cliff, single-person household

Below the cliff. At this income a single-person household remains eligible for a premium tax credit in 2027.

This occupation is below the cliff in all 23 states reported.

What this figure is. It is the median annual wage BLS reports for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment (SOC 53-7061) in Oklahoma. BLS surveys wage and salary workers and excludes the self-employed, so it is a benchmark for the occupation in this state — not the income of a self-employed car wash operator. Premium tax credit eligibility is set by household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not by occupation, so treat this as a reference point rather than a determination of what you qualify for.

Why the cliff is back. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025. For plan year 2027 the 400% FPL limit applies again, so household income above $63,840 ends premium tax credit eligibility outright.

Sources

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. State-level annual median wage (A_MEDIAN), detailed occupation. https://www.bls.gov/oes/. Retrieved 2026-08-03. Figures used unmodified; suppressed cells are omitted, not estimated.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Annual Update of the HHS Poverty Guidelines. 91 FR 1797, 15 January 2026. https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines. Retrieved 2026-09-27. The 2026 guidelines govern premium tax credit eligibility for plan year 2027 coverage. The 2027 guidelines apply to 2028 coverage.
Full dataset for all occupations and states: CSV · JSON (CC BY 4.0).

All 23 states

Benchmark premium and median wage for this occupation, ranked by premium.

#	State	Benchmark @40	Median wage	vs cliff
1	Maryland	$491	$35,890	below
2	Indiana	$537	$35,280	below
3	Virginia	$549	$34,900	below
4	Nevada	$565	$34,570	below
5	Michigan	$595	$34,640	below
6	Ohio	$603	$34,750	below
7	Colorado	$615	$39,480	below
8	North Carolina	$660	$30,700	below
9	Oklahoma	$686	$30,100	below
10	South Carolina	$702	$29,650	below
11	South Dakota	$704	$34,330	below
12	Illinois	$707	$34,610	below
13	Alabama	$712	$31,180	below
14	Utah	$716	$34,170	below
15	Wisconsin	$720	$35,320	below
16	Georgia	$733	$29,900	below
17	Texas	$737	$29,280	below
18	Florida	$738	$31,790	below
19	Kansas	$748	$38,130	below
20	Arkansas	$757	$33,910	below
21	Nebraska	$780	$36,640	below
22	Tennessee	$796	$34,630	below
23	Mississippi	$814	$29,130	below

Questions

How much does a car wash operator make in Oklahoma?

The BLS median wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in Oklahoma is $30,100 a year (May 2024). Starting pay — the 10th percentile — is about $23,550. The middle half earn $26,990 to $35,460, and the top 10% more than $43,520. BLS counts about 5,120 people doing this work for an employer in Oklahoma. The self-employed are not in the BLS survey, so this is the going rate for the work, not your own number.

Does being a car wash operator change what health insurance costs in Oklahoma?

No. Under the ACA carriers may not rate, decline, or exclude based on occupation or health history. Premiums vary only by age, ZIP code, tobacco use and household size, so the benchmark of $686 a month applies regardless of trade.

Do car wash operators qualify for a subsidy in Oklahoma in 2027?

Premium tax credit eligibility depends on household modified adjusted gross income and household size, not occupation. For reference, the BLS median wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in Oklahoma is $30,100, which is below the 2027 cliff of $63,840 for a single-person household. Your own income and household size decide the answer.

What is the benchmark premium in Oklahoma for 2027?

$686 a month for a 40-year-old, ranking 9 of 23 states published here. That is full price before any premium tax credit.

Where do these numbers come from?

Premiums come from the CMS Plan Year 2027 Qualified Health Plan Landscape file and published state rate approvals. Wages come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024. Both are reproduced unmodified; the full wage dataset is downloadable as CSV or JSON.

Going deeper on Oklahoma

This page compares states. For Oklahoma specifically — county-by-county carriers, plan data and enrollment help — that is published on Coverage by County. To check whether a plan actually covers your hospital, see Plans By City.

← Car Wash Operators in all states · All trades · All occupations

How Oklahoma compares with every other state →

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Open Enrollment 2027 for Car Wash Operators in Oklahoma

For 2027, 5 carriers sell marketplace plans across Oklahoma’s 77 counties, down from 7 in 2026. Which of them sells in your county is what decides your options as a car wash operator.

In the median Oklahoma county the benchmark Silver plan for a 40-year-old is $693 a month for 2027, up 17.1% on 2026, before any tax credit.

Open Enrollment runs from November 1. December 15 is the date that matters: choose by then and cover starts January 1 in Oklahoma and every other state.

PPOs are sold in all 77 Oklahoma counties for 2027 — the plan type most likely to pay toward care out of network, which matters if your work takes you around.

Choose before December 15

The 2027 plans are posted and the deadline for a January 1 start is December 15. Ten minutes with your ZIP code settles which plan still fits.

Enter a ZIP and a licensed agent will tell you three things:

Whether your current plan and carrier are still selling in your county for 2027
What your income estimate should realistically be — the number your credit is calculated from
Whether the doctors you actually use are in the 2027 network, before you are locked in

Compare my 2027 options →

Car Wash Operators Health Insurance in Oklahoma