Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$76,958
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$29,312
27.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,857
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$106,270
Kept after tax
$76,958
Worth in national money
$70,857
State rank
10
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Hawaii's middle earner gets $106,270, putting the state 10 of 50 — about 4.27% ahead of the national figure.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Hawaii. It ranks 65 out of 437 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $106,270, tax leaves $76,958 — and because Hawaii is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $70,857 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $106,100.
- For geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers, Hawaii sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $106,270, ranking 10 of 50 and running about 4.27% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Within Hawaii, geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers ranks 65 of 437 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.
- After tax, $76,958 remains from the Hawaii median of $106,270 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $70,857 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $106,100 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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 | $83,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $106,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $137,720 |
| This salary | $106,270 |
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 Hawaii | $76,958 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $83,591 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$15,164 |
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 | $96,841 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$20,946 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $106,270 as a midpoint for Hawaii, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $83,050 and the ninetieth is $137,720 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Hawaii the take-home figure of $76,958, from $106,270, 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 65 of 437 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $70,857 uses one figure for the whole of Hawaii. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 437 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 65.
- The Hawaii median of $106,270 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $83,050 to $137,720. 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 Hawaii is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $76,958 from $106,270. 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 65 of 437 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $70,857, worked from $106,270, 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 Hawaii address, on work sitting at 65 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $83,050 at the bottom tenth to $137,720 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $70,857 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Hawaii then takes its own share, leaving $76,958.
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 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($83,050 to $137,720) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $70,857 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 $76,958 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.