Biological Scientists, All Other in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$66,538
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$20,722
23.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$73,956
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$87,260
Kept after tax
$66,538
Worth in national money
$73,956
State rank
25
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Alabama pays biological scientists, all other around $87,260 at the midpoint, 25 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Alabama. It ranks 76 out of 482 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $87,260 the take-home is $66,538; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $73,956 would nationally. The average comes to $90,010, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For biological scientists, all other the Alabama median is $87,260, ranking 25 of 50 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Within Alabama, biological scientists, all other ranks 76 of 482 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Post-tax income for biological scientists, all other in Alabama, on $87,260, is $66,538 — equivalent to $73,956 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 $90,010 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Biological Scientists, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $87,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $116,900 |
| This salary | $87,260 |
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 Alabama | $66,538 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $70,217 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,697 |
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 | $82,030 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,344 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $87,260. The published range is $61,620 up to $116,900, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $66,538 take-home in Alabama comes from $87,260. 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 76 of 482.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $73,956, the adjusted value of that $87,260 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 76 of 482 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for biological scientists, all other in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $61,620 to $116,900. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $66,538, from $87,260, assumes a single Alabama 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 76 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 25 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $73,956 — the adjusted value of that $87,260 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 76 of 482 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 $90,010, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $61,620 and the top tenth $116,900, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $73,956 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $66,538 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 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 Alabama is $90,010. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($61,620 to $116,900) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $73,956 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 $66,538 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.