Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,940
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$28,560
26.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,230
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$106,500
Kept after tax
$77,940
Worth in national money
$69,230
State rank
9
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays this job a middle wage of $106,500, ranking 9 of 50 states and sitting about 4.49% above the national middle.
- Within California this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 107 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $106,500 the take-home is $77,940. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $69,230 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $108,910, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California's median for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers is $106,500, about 4.49% above the national figure and 9 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation California publishes a median for, geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers sits 107 of 492 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $77,940 for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers, from $106,500. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $69,230. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $108,910 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $106,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $171,270 |
| This salary | $106,500 |
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 California | $77,940 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $83,753 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$16,957 |
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 | $98,238 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$23,423 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
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 California earn under $106,500 and half over. The published range runs $45,540 at the tenth percentile to $171,270 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $77,940 take-home in California comes from $106,500. 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 107 of 492.
- Two cautions on $69,230, the adjusted value of that $106,500 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of California. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 107 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,540 to $171,270; 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 $77,940, from $106,500, assumes a single California 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 107 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 9 of 50 for it.
- This $69,230 adjusted figure, worked from $106,500, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 107 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 107 of 492 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 $45,540 and the top tenth $171,270 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $69,230 rather than its face figure.
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 California's own levy, $77,940 remains.
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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($45,540) and the ninetieth ($171,270) 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?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $69,230 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 $77,940 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.