Atmospheric and Space Scientists in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,437
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$24,083
25.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,248
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$96,520
Kept after tax
$72,437
Worth in national money
$76,248
State rank
27
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah sits in the middle of the pack for atmospheric and space scientists. The median is $96,520, ranking 27 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 487 occupations Utah reports, atmospheric and space scientists comes in at 77 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Utah does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $96,520 you keep $72,437, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $76,248 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $92,780, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Utah occupies the middle band for atmospheric and space scientists: a median of $96,520, ranking 27 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Atmospheric and space scientists ranks 77 of 487 occupations by median in Utah, 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.
- After federal, FICA and Utah income tax, retained pay for atmospheric and space scientists on $96,520 is $72,437. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $76,248 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $92,780 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Atmospheric and Space Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $53,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $126,440 |
| This salary | $96,520 |
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 Utah | $72,437 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,732 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,715 |
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 | $90,415 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,750 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Utah earn less than $96,520. The published range is $53,060 up to $126,440, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $72,437 take-home in Utah comes from $96,520. 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 77 of 487.
- Two cautions on $76,248, the adjusted value of that $96,520 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Utah. 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 77 of 487 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for atmospheric and space scientists in Utah the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $53,060 to $126,440. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $72,437, from $96,520, assumes a single Utah 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 77 of 487 locally, and the state ranks 27 of 47 for it.
- This $76,248 adjusted figure, worked from $96,520, 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 77 of 487 in the state. The occupation ranks 77 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $92,780, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $53,060 at the bottom tenth to $126,440 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Utah sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $76,248 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Utah then takes its own share, leaving $72,437.
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 Utah is $92,780. 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 ($53,060) and the ninetieth ($126,440) 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?
Utah'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 $76,248 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 $72,437 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.