Atmospheric and Space Scientists in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$93,371
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$35,429
27.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$89,810
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$128,800
Kept after tax
$93,371
Worth in national money
$89,810
State rank
1
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is one of the better-paying states for atmospheric and space scientists. The middle earner takes $128,800, which ranks 1 of 47 states with published figures. That is about 30.01% above the national middle.
- Within Maryland this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, atmospheric and space scientists ranks 41 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $128,800 the take-home is $93,371. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $89,810 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $127,180, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Maryland ranks 1 of 47 states publishing a median for atmospheric and space scientists, at $128,800 — about 30.01% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Ranked against every occupation Maryland publishes a median for, atmospheric and space scientists sits 41 of 489 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $93,371 for atmospheric and space scientists, from $128,800. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $89,810. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $127,180 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Atmospheric and Space Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $83,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $128,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $168,460 |
| This salary | $128,800 |
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 Maryland | $93,371 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $99,301 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,378 |
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 | $120,172 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$17,297 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $128,800 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $83,230 and the ninetieth is $168,460 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $93,371 take-home in Maryland comes from $128,800. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 41 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maryland, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $89,810, the adjusted value of that $128,800 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 41 of 489 in the state.
- The Maryland median of $128,800 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $83,230 to $168,460. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $93,371, from $128,800, assumes a single Maryland filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 41 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 1 of 47 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maryland, so $89,810 — the adjusted value of that $128,800 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 41 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $83,230 at the bottom tenth to $168,460 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $89,810 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Maryland's own levy, $93,371 remains.
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 ($83,230 to $168,460) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $89,810 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 $93,371 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.