Conservation Scientists in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,720
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$17,280
22.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,378
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$77,000
Kept after tax
$59,720
Worth in national money
$66,378
State rank
16
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is one of the better-paying states for conservation scientists. The middle earner takes $77,000, which ranks 16 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 5.47% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 482 occupations Alabama reports, conservation scientists comes in at 105 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $77,000 you keep $59,720, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $66,378 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $80,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alabama ranks 16 of 51 states publishing a median for conservation scientists, at $77,000 — about 5.47% 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.
- Conservation scientists ranks 105 of 482 occupations by median in Alabama, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for conservation scientists on $77,000 is $59,720. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $66,378 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 $80,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Conservation Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $115,590 |
| This salary | $77,000 |
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 Alabama | $59,720 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,000 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,547 |
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 | $72,338 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,136 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $77,000 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $48,730 and the ninetieth is $115,590 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $59,720, from $77,000, 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 105 of 482 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $66,378 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 105.
- The Alabama median of $77,000 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $48,730 to $115,590. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,720 from $77,000. 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 105 of 482 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $66,378, worked from $77,000, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 105 of 482 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 $80,870, 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?
The label is broader than the work. From $48,730 at the bottom tenth to $115,590 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $66,378 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 Alabama's own levy, $59,720 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 Alabama is $80,870. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($48,730) and the ninetieth ($115,590) 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?
Alabama'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 $66,378 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 $59,720 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.