Conservation Scientists in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,422
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$17,478
23.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,169
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$75,900
Kept after tax
$58,422
Worth in national money
$60,169
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Maine is 22 of 51 states for conservation scientists, with a middle wage of $75,900. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Conservation scientists ranks 143 among 484 occupations Maine publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Maine costs about what the country costs, so from $75,900, take-home of $58,422 is worth roughly $60,169 in national money. The average comes to $77,100, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maine ranks 22 of 51 for conservation scientists at $75,900. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 143 of 484 in Maine places conservation scientists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Price parity in Maine is near the national base, so for conservation scientists, whose median is $75,900, the adjusted figure of $60,169 differs little from $58,422 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $77,100 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Conservation Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $75,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $107,680 |
| This salary | $75,900 |
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 Maine | $58,422 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,226 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,865 |
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 | $70,494 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,339 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maine earn less than $75,900. The published range is $48,150 up to $107,680, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maine's $58,422, worked from $75,900. 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 143 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $60,169 uses one figure for the whole of Maine. 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 143.
- Reported values are medians; for conservation scientists in Maine the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,150 to $107,680. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Maine take-home of $58,422, on $75,900 for work ranking 143 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 143 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $60,169, worked from $75,900, 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 Maine address, on work sitting at 143 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 $48,150 and the top tenth $107,680 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $60,169.
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; Maine then takes its own share, leaving $58,422.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($48,150) and the ninetieth ($107,680) 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?
Maine'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 $60,169 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 $58,422 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.