Forest and Conservation Technicians in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$44,139
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$10,021
18.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,676
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$54,160
Kept after tax
$44,139
Worth in national money
$45,676
State rank
19
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Vermont is 19 of 45 states for this job, with a middle wage of $54,160. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 284 among 453 occupations Vermont publishes pay for.
- Here is where Vermont does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $54,160 you keep $44,139, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $45,676 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $60,430, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Vermont ranks 19 of 45 for forest and conservation technicians at $54,160. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 284 of 453 in Vermont 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.
- After federal, FICA and Vermont income tax, retained pay for forest and conservation technicians on $54,160 is $44,139. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $45,676 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 $60,430 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Forest and Conservation Technicians
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $41,660 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $54,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $84,120 |
| This salary | $54,160 |
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 Vermont | $44,139 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,698 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,350 |
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 | $52,221 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,632 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of forest and conservation technicians in Vermont earn under $54,160 and half over. The published range runs $41,660 at the tenth percentile to $84,120 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Vermont the take-home figure of $44,139, from $54,160, 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 284 of 453 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Vermont, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $45,676, the adjusted value of that $54,160 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 284 of 453 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for forest and conservation technicians in Vermont, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $41,660 to $84,120; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Vermont is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $44,139 from $54,160. 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 284 of 453 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Vermont, so $45,676 — the adjusted value of that $54,160 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 284 of 453 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $60,430, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $41,660 at the bottom tenth to $84,120 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Vermont sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $45,676 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Vermont's own levy, $44,139 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Vermont is $60,430. 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 ($41,660) and the ninetieth ($84,120) 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?
Vermont'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 $45,676 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 $44,139 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.