Biological Scientists, All Other in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,836
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$17,644
22.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,347
Wisconsin costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Wisconsin — 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
$78,480
Kept after tax
$60,836
Worth in national money
$65,347
State rank
42
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for biological scientists, all other is on the low side in Wisconsin. The middle earner gets $78,480. That is 42 of 50 states, and about 20.66% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Wisconsin reports figures for, this is number 132.
- Wisconsin is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $78,480 the take-home is $60,836; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $65,347 would nationally. The average comes to $83,250, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For biological scientists, all other, Wisconsin sits in the lower band at $78,480, ranking 42 of 50 and trailing the national median by about 20.66%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Wisconsin's occupational distribution, biological scientists, all other sits at 132 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for biological scientists, all other in Wisconsin, on $78,480, is $60,836 — equivalent to $65,347 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 $83,250 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 | $61,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $108,120 |
| This salary | $78,480 |
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 Wisconsin | $60,836 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,041 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$555 |
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 | $73,925 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$767 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Wisconsin earn less than $78,480. The published range is $61,760 up to $108,120, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $60,836, from $78,480, 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 132 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Wisconsin, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $65,347, the adjusted value of that $78,480 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 132 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for biological scientists, all other in Wisconsin the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $61,760 to $108,120. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Wisconsin is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $60,836 from $78,480. 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 132 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $65,347 — the adjusted value of that $78,480 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 132 of 491 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 $83,250 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $61,760 at the bottom tenth to $108,120 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Wisconsin sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $65,347 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Wisconsin then takes its own share, leaving $60,836.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 Wisconsin is $83,250. 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 ($61,760 to $108,120) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Wisconsin rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Wisconsin'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 $65,347 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 $60,836 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Wisconsin 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.