Biological Scientists, All Other in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,626
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$24,404
25.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,094
Virginia costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Virginia — 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
$96,030
Kept after tax
$71,626
Worth in national money
$71,094
State rank
15
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia is one of the better-paying states for biological scientists, all other. The middle earner takes $96,030, which ranks 15 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 2.92% above the national middle.
- Within Virginia this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, biological scientists, all other ranks 94 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $96,030 the take-home is $71,626, which is worth about $71,094 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $102,970, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia ranks 15 of 50 states publishing a median for biological scientists, all other, at $96,030 — about 2.92% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Virginia publishes a median for, biological scientists, all other sits 94 of 489 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for biological scientists, all other on its $96,030 median: $71,626 retained after tax becomes $71,094 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $102,970 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 | $64,650 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $151,100 |
| This salary | $96,030 |
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 Virginia | $71,626 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,387 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,514 |
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 | $89,262 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,380 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Virginia earn less than $96,030. The published range is $64,650 up to $151,100, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $71,626, from $96,030, 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 94 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $71,094, the adjusted value of that $96,030 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Virginia. 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 94 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for biological scientists, all other in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $64,650 to $151,100. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $71,626 from $96,030. 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 94 of 489 locally.
- This $71,094 adjusted figure, worked from $96,030, 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 94 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 94 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 $102,970 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $64,650 and the top tenth $151,100 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $71,094 of national purchasing power.
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 Virginia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $71,626 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 Virginia is $102,970. 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 ($64,650) and the ninetieth ($151,100) 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?
Virginia's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $71,094 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 $71,626 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Virginia 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.