Forest and Conservation Technicians in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$38,566
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$9,374
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$40,595
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$47,940
Kept after tax
$38,566
Worth in national money
$40,595
State rank
41
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $47,940, ranking 41 of 45 states — about 12.13% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 329 among 487 occupations Utah publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $47,940 you keep $38,566 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $40,595 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $51,930, since top earners drag the number up.
- Utah ranks 41 of 45 for forest and conservation technicians, with a median of $47,940 — about 12.13% 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.
- Position 329 of 487 in Utah places forest and conservation technicians 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.
- Retained pay in Utah is $38,566 after the full tax stack, from $47,940. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $40,595 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $51,930 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Forest and Conservation Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,530 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,940 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,310 |
| This salary | $47,940 |
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 Utah | $38,566 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,700 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,288 |
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 | $45,285 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,557 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $47,940 as a midpoint for Utah, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $32,530 and the ninetieth is $79,310 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $38,566, from $47,940, 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 329 of 487 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $40,595 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 329.
- The Utah median of $47,940 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $32,530 to $79,310. 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 Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $38,566 from $47,940. 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 329 of 487 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $40,595, worked from $47,940, 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 Utah address, on work sitting at 329 of 487 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 $51,930, 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 $32,530 at the bottom tenth to $79,310 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $40,595.
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 Utah's own levy, $38,566 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Utah is $51,930. 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 ($32,530) and the ninetieth ($79,310) 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?
Utah'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 $40,595 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 $38,566 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.