Atmospheric and Space Scientists in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$84,759
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$29,471
25.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$92,369
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$114,230
Kept after tax
$84,759
Worth in national money
$92,369
State rank
9
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri is one of the better-paying states for atmospheric and space scientists. The middle earner takes $114,230, which ranks 9 of 47 states with published figures. That is about 15.3% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 488 occupations Missouri reports, atmospheric and space scientists comes in at 28 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $114,230 you keep $84,759 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $92,369 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $108,510.
- Missouri ranks 9 of 47 states publishing a median for atmospheric and space scientists, at $114,230 — about 15.3% 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.
- Atmospheric and space scientists ranks 28 of 488 occupations by median in Missouri, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Retained pay in Missouri is $84,759 after the full tax stack, from $114,230. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $92,369 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $108,510 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Atmospheric and Space Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $114,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $147,640 |
| This salary | $114,230 |
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 Missouri | $84,759 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $89,191 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$585 |
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 | $107,931 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$808 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $114,230. The published range is $60,740 up to $147,640, 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 Missouri's $84,759, worked from $114,230. 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 28 of 488.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $92,369 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 28.
- Reported values are medians; for atmospheric and space scientists in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $60,740 to $147,640. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Missouri take-home of $84,759, on $114,230 for work ranking 28 of 488 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 28 of 488 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $92,369, worked from $114,230, 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 Missouri address, on work sitting at 28 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $108,510, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $60,740 at the bottom tenth to $147,640 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Missouri is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $92,369 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; Missouri then takes its own share, leaving $84,759.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 47 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Missouri is $108,510. 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 ($60,740) and the ninetieth ($147,640) 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?
Missouri'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 $92,369 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 $84,759 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.