Biological Scientists, All Other in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$70,282
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$22,968
24.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$73,979
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
$93,250
Kept after tax
$70,282
Worth in national money
$73,979
State rank
19
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Utah pays biological scientists, all other around $93,250 at the midpoint, 19 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Utah. It ranks 81 out of 487 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $93,250 you keep $70,282 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $73,979 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $97,340, since top earners drag the number up.
- For biological scientists, all other the Utah median is $93,250, ranking 19 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 Utah, biological scientists, all other ranks 81 of 487 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.
- Retained pay in Utah is $70,282 after the full tax stack, from $93,250. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $73,979 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $97,340 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 | $64,160 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $93,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $135,190 |
| This salary | $93,250 |
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 | $70,282 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $74,431 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,616 |
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 | $87,351 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,613 |
| 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 $93,250. The published range is $64,160 up to $135,190, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $70,282, from $93,250, 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 81 of 487 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $73,979, the adjusted value of that $93,250 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 81 of 487 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for biological scientists, all other in Utah the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $64,160 to $135,190. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $70,282 from $93,250. 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 81 of 487 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $73,979 — the adjusted value of that $93,250 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 81 of 487 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 $97,340, 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?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $64,160, the highest tenth $135,190, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $73,979 in national terms.
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 Utah adds its own income tax on top — which is why $70,282 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 Utah is $97,340. 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 ($64,160) and the ninetieth ($135,190) 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 $73,979 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 $70,282 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.