Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,615
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$18,375
22.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,482
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$80,990
Kept after tax
$62,615
Worth in national money
$66,482
State rank
36
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Michigan is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $80,990, ranking 36 of 50 states — about 20.54% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Michigan. It ranks 114 out of 493 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Michigan does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $80,990 you keep $62,615, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $66,482 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $86,420, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Michigan ranks 36 of 50 for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers, with a median of $80,990 — about 20.54% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Within Michigan, geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers ranks 114 of 493 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 federal, FICA and Michigan income tax, retained pay for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers on $80,990 is $62,615. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $66,482 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $86,420 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 | $62,160 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $80,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $119,960 |
| This salary | $80,990 |
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 Michigan | $62,615 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,806 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,238 |
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 | $76,454 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,710 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $80,990 as a midpoint for Michigan, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $62,160 and the ninetieth is $119,960 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Michigan's $62,615, worked from $80,990. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 114 of 493.
- Two cautions on $66,482, the adjusted value of that $80,990 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Michigan. 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 114 of 493 locally.
- The Michigan median of $80,990 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $62,160 to $119,960. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Michigan take-home of $62,615, on $80,990 for work ranking 114 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 114 of 493 in the state.
- This $66,482 adjusted figure, worked from $80,990, 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 114 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 114 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $86,420 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $62,160 and the top tenth $119,960, so most people doing this work in Michigan sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Michigan sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $66,482 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Michigan's own levy, $62,615 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.
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 Michigan is $86,420. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($62,160 to $119,960) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $66,482 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 $62,615 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.