Biological Technicians in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$34,652
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$7,478
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,902
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$42,130
Kept after tax
$34,652
Worth in national money
$37,902
State rank
50
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for biological technicians is on the low side in Idaho. The middle earner gets $42,130. That is 50 of 51 states, and about 26.74% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Measured against other jobs in Idaho, this one sits low: 367 of 476 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $42,130 you keep $34,652, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,902 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $45,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For biological technicians, Idaho sits in the lower band at $42,130, ranking 50 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 26.74%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Biological technicians occupies position 367 of 476 in Idaho's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for biological technicians on $42,130 is $34,652. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,902 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $45,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Biological Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,010 |
| This salary | $42,130 |
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 Idaho | $34,652 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,031 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$823 |
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 | $40,413 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$995 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
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 technicians in Idaho earn under $42,130 and half over. The published range runs $36,030 at the tenth percentile to $59,010 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Idaho the take-home figure of $34,652, from $42,130, 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 367 of 476 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $37,902 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 367.
- Figures are distribution medians for biological technicians in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $36,030 to $59,010; 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.
- Take-home for Idaho is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $34,652 from $42,130. 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 367 of 476 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $37,902, worked from $42,130, 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 Idaho address, on work sitting at 367 of 476 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 $45,870, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $36,030 at the tenth percentile, $59,010 at the ninetieth.
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 $37,902.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Idaho's own levy, $34,652 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Idaho is $45,870. 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 ($36,030 to $59,010) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $37,902 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 $34,652 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.