Atmospheric and Space Scientists in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$86,207
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$34,803
28.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$79,374
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$121,010
Kept after tax
$86,207
Worth in national money
$79,374
State rank
3
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for atmospheric and space scientists is strong here. Hawaii's middle earner gets $121,010, putting the state 3 of 47 — about 22.15% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Hawaii this is well-paid work. Of 437 occupations with published figures in the state, atmospheric and space scientists ranks 40 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Hawaii is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $121,010 the take-home is $86,207; in national-average money that behaves like $79,374. The average comes to $121,740, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For atmospheric and space scientists, Hawaii sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $121,010, ranking 3 of 47 and running about 22.15% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation Hawaii publishes a median for, atmospheric and space scientists sits 40 of 437 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Take-home for atmospheric and space scientists in Hawaii, on $121,010, is $86,207; deflated by the state's price level, $79,374. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $121,740 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Atmospheric and Space Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $82,930 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $121,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $160,330 |
| This salary | $121,010 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Hawaii | $86,207 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $93,961 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$17,318 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $109,989 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$23,922 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Hawaii earn less than $121,010. The published range is $82,930 up to $160,330, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Hawaii's $86,207, worked from $121,010. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 40 of 437.
- Two cautions on $79,374, the adjusted value of that $121,010 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Hawaii. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 40 of 437 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for atmospheric and space scientists in Hawaii the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $82,930 to $160,330. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Hawaii take-home of $86,207, on $121,010 for work ranking 40 of 437 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 40 of 437 in the state.
- This $79,374 adjusted figure, worked from $121,010, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 40 of 437 in the state. The occupation ranks 40 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $82,930 at the tenth percentile, $160,330 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $79,374 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Hawaii adds its own income tax on top — which is why $86,207 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($82,930 to $160,330) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $79,374 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $86,207 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.