Conservation Scientists in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,805
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$16,595
21.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,173
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$76,400
Kept after tax
$59,805
Worth in national money
$66,173
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Nebraska pays conservation scientists around $76,400 at the midpoint, 19 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Within Nebraska this is well-paid work. Of 488 occupations with published figures in the state, conservation scientists ranks 119 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $76,400 you keep $59,805 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $66,173 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $77,930, since top earners drag the number up.
- For conservation scientists the Nebraska median is $76,400, ranking 19 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Ranked against every occupation Nebraska publishes a median for, conservation scientists sits 119 of 488 — 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.
- Retained pay in Nebraska is $59,805 after the full tax stack, from $76,400. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $66,173 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $77,930 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Conservation Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $54,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $106,330 |
| This salary | $76,400 |
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 Nebraska | $59,805 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,577 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,777 |
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 | $72,459 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,454 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $76,400 as a midpoint for Nebraska, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $54,500 and the ninetieth is $106,330 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Nebraska's $59,805, worked from $76,400. 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 119 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Nebraska, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $66,173, the adjusted value of that $76,400 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 119 of 488 in the state.
- The Nebraska median of $76,400 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $54,500 to $106,330. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Nebraska take-home of $59,805, on $76,400 for work ranking 119 of 488 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 119 of 488 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Nebraska, so $66,173 — the adjusted value of that $76,400 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 119 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $54,500 and the top tenth $106,330, so most people doing this work in Nebraska sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $66,173.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Nebraska adds its own income tax on top — which is why $59,805 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($54,500 to $106,330) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $66,173 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 $59,805 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.