Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$67,435
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$21,175
23.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,953
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$88,610
Kept after tax
$67,435
Worth in national money
$74,953
State rank
22
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Alabama pays this job around $88,610 at the midpoint, 22 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Within Alabama this is well-paid work. Of 482 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 74 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $88,610 the take-home is $67,435; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $74,953 would nationally. The average comes to $89,960, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers the Alabama median is $88,610, ranking 22 of 50 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 Alabama publishes a median for, geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers sits 74 of 482 — 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.
- Post-tax income for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers in Alabama, on $88,610, is $67,435 — equivalent to $74,953 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $89,960 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,110 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $88,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $136,990 |
| This salary | $88,610 |
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 Alabama | $67,435 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $71,167 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,717 |
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 | $83,305 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,371 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers in Alabama earn under $88,610 and half over. The published range runs $49,110 at the tenth percentile to $136,990 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $67,435 take-home in Alabama comes from $88,610. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 74 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $74,953 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 74.
- Figures are distribution medians for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $49,110 to $136,990; 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.
- Retained pay of $67,435, from $88,610, assumes a single Alabama filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 74 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $74,953, worked from $88,610, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 74 of 482 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 $49,110 and the top tenth $136,990 — 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 $74,953.
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 Alabama's own levy, $67,435 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($49,110) and the ninetieth ($136,990) 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?
Alabama'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 $74,953 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 $67,435 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.