Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$56,240
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$13,580
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$63,660
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
$69,820
Kept after tax
$56,240
Worth in national money
$63,660
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $69,820, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 15.08% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 484 occupations Louisiana reports figures for, this is number 127.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $69,820 you keep $56,240, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $63,660 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $82,010, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Louisiana ranks 42 of 51 for environmental scientists and specialists, including health, with a median of $69,820 — about 15.08% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- In Louisiana's occupational distribution, environmental scientists and specialists, including health sits at 127 of 484 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for environmental scientists and specialists, including health on $69,820 is $56,240. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $63,660 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 $82,010 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $69,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $132,810 |
| This salary | $69,820 |
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 | $56,240 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $57,948 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,027 |
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 | $67,392 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,562 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $69,820 as a midpoint for Louisiana, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $49,890 and the ninetieth is $132,810 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Louisiana the take-home figure of $56,240, from $69,820, 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 127 of 484 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Louisiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $63,660, the adjusted value of that $69,820 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 127 of 484 in the state.
- The Louisiana median of $69,820 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $49,890 to $132,810. 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 Louisiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $56,240 from $69,820. 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 127 of 484 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Louisiana, so $63,660 — the adjusted value of that $69,820 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 127 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $82,010 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $49,890, the highest tenth $132,810, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $63,660.
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, $56,240 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 Louisiana is $82,010. 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 ($49,890) and the ninetieth ($132,810) 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 $63,660 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 $56,240 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.