Atmospheric and Space Scientists in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$87,373
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$32,057
26.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$95,567
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$119,430
Kept after tax
$87,373
Worth in national money
$95,567
State rank
5
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Idaho pays atmospheric and space scientists a middle wage of $119,430, ranking 5 of 47 states and sitting about 20.55% above the national middle.
- Within Idaho this is well-paid work. Of 476 occupations with published figures in the state, atmospheric and space scientists ranks 25 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Idaho is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $119,430 the take-home is $87,373; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $95,567 would nationally. The average lands at $113,340, below the middle of the range.
- Idaho's median for atmospheric and space scientists is $119,430, about 20.55% above the national figure and 5 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Idaho publishes a median for, atmospheric and space scientists sits 25 of 476 — 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.
- Post-tax income for atmospheric and space scientists in Idaho, on $119,430, is $87,373 — equivalent to $95,567 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $113,340 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Atmospheric and Space Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $119,430 |
| Top tenth earn over | $153,570 |
| This salary | $119,430 |
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 Idaho | $87,373 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $92,849 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$19 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $111,645 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$26 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of atmospheric and space scientists in Idaho earn under $119,430 and half over. The published range runs $61,110 at the tenth percentile to $153,570 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Idaho the take-home figure of $87,373, from $119,430, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 25 of 476 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $95,567 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 25.
- Figures are distribution medians for atmospheric and space scientists in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $61,110 to $153,570; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Idaho is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $87,373 from $119,430. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 25 of 476 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $95,567, worked from $119,430, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Idaho address, on work sitting at 25 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $113,340 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $61,110 and the top tenth $153,570 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Idaho is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $95,567 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $87,373.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Idaho is $113,340. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($61,110) and the ninetieth ($153,570) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $95,567 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $87,373 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.