Chemists in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$79,186
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$24,704
23.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$89,633
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$103,890
Kept after tax
$79,186
Worth in national money
$89,633
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Louisiana pays chemists a middle wage of $103,890, ranking 8 of 51 states and sitting about 13.86% above the national middle.
- Within Louisiana this is well-paid work. Of 484 occupations with published figures in the state, chemists ranks 37 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $103,890 you keep $79,186, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $89,633 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $106,810, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Louisiana's median for chemists is $103,890, about 13.86% above the national figure and 8 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Louisiana publishes a median for, chemists sits 37 of 484 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for chemists on $103,890 is $79,186. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $89,633 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 $106,810 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chemists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $103,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $168,460 |
| This salary | $103,890 |
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 Louisiana | $79,186 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $81,917 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$5,335 |
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 | $100,009 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$7,369 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 chemists in Louisiana earn under $103,890 and half over. The published range runs $58,310 at the tenth percentile to $168,460 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Louisiana's $79,186, worked from $103,890. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 37 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $89,633 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 37.
- Figures are distribution medians for chemists in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $58,310 to $168,460; 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.
- The Louisiana take-home of $79,186, on $103,890 for work ranking 37 of 484 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 37 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $89,633, worked from $103,890, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 37 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $58,310 and the top tenth $168,460 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $89,633 in national terms.
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 Louisiana's own levy, $79,186 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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($58,310) and the ninetieth ($168,460) 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?
Louisiana'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 $89,633 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 $79,186 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.