Biological Scientists, All Other in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,027
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$17,374
21.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,562
Kentucky costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kentucky — 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
$79,400
Kept after tax
$62,027
Worth in national money
$68,562
State rank
41
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Kentucky pays biological scientists, all other a middle wage of $79,400, 41 of 50 states and about 19.73% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 491 occupations Kentucky reports, biological scientists, all other comes in at 90 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $79,400 you keep $62,027 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $68,562 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $79,930, since top earners drag the number up.
- Kentucky's $79,400 median for biological scientists, all other places it 41 of 50 states, about 19.73% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Biological scientists, all other ranks 90 of 491 occupations by median in Kentucky, 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 Kentucky is $62,027 after the full tax stack, from $79,400. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $68,562 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $79,930 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Biological Scientists, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $109,300 |
| This salary | $79,400 |
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 Kentucky | $62,027 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,688 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,993 |
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 | $75,617 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,753 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 biological scientists, all other in Kentucky earn under $79,400 and half over. The published range runs $52,020 at the tenth percentile to $109,300 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $62,027 take-home in Kentucky comes from $79,400. 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 90 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $68,562, the adjusted value of that $79,400 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 90 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for biological scientists, all other in Kentucky, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $52,020 to $109,300; 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.
- Retained pay of $62,027, from $79,400, assumes a single Kentucky 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 90 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 41 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $68,562 — the adjusted value of that $79,400 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 90 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $52,020 at the bottom tenth to $109,300 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $68,562.
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; Kentucky then takes its own share, leaving $62,027.
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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($52,020) and the ninetieth ($109,300) 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?
Kentucky'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 $68,562 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 $62,027 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kentucky 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.