Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,380
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$24,570
25.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$73,218
Illinois costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Illinois — 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
$96,950
Kept after tax
$72,380
Worth in national money
$73,218
State rank
15
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $96,950, which ranks 15 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 4.88% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 494 occupations Illinois reports, this job comes in at 92 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $96,950 the take-home is $72,380, which is worth about $73,218 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $109,290, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Illinois ranks 15 of 50 states publishing a median for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers, at $96,950 — about 4.88% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers ranks 92 of 494 occupations by median in Illinois, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Illinois's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers on its $96,950 median: $72,380 retained after tax becomes $73,218 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $109,290 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $96,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $177,670 |
| This salary | $96,950 |
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 Illinois | $72,380 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,034 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,055 |
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 | $90,334 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,364 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
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 Illinois earn under $96,950 and half over. The published range runs $65,290 at the tenth percentile to $177,670 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $72,380 take-home in Illinois comes from $96,950. 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 92 of 494.
- One number stands for prices across all of Illinois, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $73,218, the adjusted value of that $96,950 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 92 of 494 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers in Illinois, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $65,290 to $177,670; 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 $72,380, from $96,950, assumes a single Illinois 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 92 of 494 locally, and the state ranks 15 of 50 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Illinois, so $73,218 — the adjusted value of that $96,950 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 92 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $109,290, 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 $65,290 at the bottom tenth to $177,670 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Illinois is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $73,218 in national terms.
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; Illinois then takes its own share, leaving $72,380.
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.
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 Illinois is $109,290. 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 ($65,290) and the ninetieth ($177,670) 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?
Illinois'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 $73,218 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 $72,380 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Illinois 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.