Biological Scientists, All Other in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$88,898
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$32,782
26.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$85,508
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
$121,680
Kept after tax
$88,898
Worth in national money
$85,508
State rank
1
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is one of the better-paying states for biological scientists, all other. The middle earner takes $121,680, which ranks 1 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 23.01% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 489 occupations Maryland reports, biological scientists, all other comes in at 52 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $121,680 the take-home is $88,898. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $85,508 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $126,240, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maryland ranks 1 of 50 states publishing a median for biological scientists, all other, at $121,680 — about 23.01% 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.
- Biological scientists, all other ranks 52 of 489 occupations by median in Maryland, 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 after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $88,898 for biological scientists, all other, from $121,680. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $85,508. ⚠️ 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 $126,240 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $75,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $121,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $195,000 |
| This salary | $121,680 |
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 | $88,898 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $94,432 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,670 |
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 | $113,814 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$16,119 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $121,680 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $75,240 and the ninetieth is $195,000 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Maryland the take-home figure of $88,898, from $121,680, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 52 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $85,508 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 52.
- The Maryland median of $121,680 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $75,240 to $195,000. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Maryland is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $88,898 from $121,680. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 52 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $85,508, worked from $121,680, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 52 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $126,240 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $75,240 at the bottom tenth to $195,000 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $85,508 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $88,898.
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 50 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 Maryland is $126,240. 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 ($75,240) and the ninetieth ($195,000) 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.
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 $85,508 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 $88,898 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.