Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$67,034
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$18,156
21.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,301
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$85,190
Kept after tax
$67,034
Worth in national money
$66,301
State rank
31
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arizona is 31 of 50 states for this job, with a middle wage of $85,190. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Arizona. It ranks 94 out of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $85,190, take-home of $67,034 is worth roughly $66,301 in national money. The average comes to $90,240, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arizona ranks 31 of 50 for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers at $85,190. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Arizona, geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers ranks 94 of 491 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers, whose median is $85,190, the adjusted figure of $66,301 differs little from $67,034 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $90,240 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 | $57,450 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $85,190 |
| Top tenth earn over | $131,100 |
| This salary | $85,190 |
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 Arizona | $67,034 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,761 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,459 |
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 | $82,735 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,159 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $85,190 as a midpoint for Arizona, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $57,450 and the ninetieth is $131,100 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $67,034, from $85,190, 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 94 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $66,301 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 94.
- The Arizona median of $85,190 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $57,450 to $131,100. 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 Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $67,034 from $85,190. 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 94 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $66,301, worked from $85,190, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 94 of 491 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 $90,240, 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $57,450 and the top tenth $131,100 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $66,301 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Arizona adds its own income tax on top — which is why $67,034 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 Arizona is $90,240. 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 ($57,450) and the ninetieth ($131,100) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $66,301 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $67,034 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.