Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in Nebraska

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May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$65,825

after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax

Tax takes

$19,725

23.1% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$72,835

Nebraska costs less than average

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

$85,550

Kept after tax

$65,825

Worth in national money

$72,835

State rank

30

of 50 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • Nebraska sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $85,550, ranking 30 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
  • Within Nebraska this is well-paid work. Of 488 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 80 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
  • Here is where Nebraska does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $85,550 you keep $65,825, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $72,835 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $87,510, because the best-paid pull it up.
  • Nebraska occupies the middle band for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers: a median of $85,550, ranking 30 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
  • Ranked against every occupation Nebraska publishes a median for, geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers sits 80 of 488 — 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.
  • After federal, FICA and Nebraska income tax, retained pay for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers on $85,550 is $65,825. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $72,835 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 $87,510 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

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$59,990
Half earn under$85,550
Top tenth earn over$117,120
This salary$85,550

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

Compare with
+$3,189take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Nebraska$65,825
Take-home in Texas$69,014
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity−$1,814

The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.

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

Moving to
$0$88,056
$88,056in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$81,017
Raise you would need+$2,506
Prices in Texas97 vs 90

State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.

Sources and assumptions
  • Treat $85,550 as a midpoint for Nebraska, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $59,990 and the ninetieth is $117,120 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
  • In Nebraska the take-home figure of $65,825, from $85,550, 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 80 of 488 occupations here.
  • The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $72,835 uses one figure for the whole of Nebraska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 488 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 80.
  • The Nebraska median of $85,550 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $59,990 to $117,120. 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 Nebraska is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $65,825 from $85,550. 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 80 of 488 locally.
  • Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $72,835, worked from $85,550, 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 Nebraska address, on work sitting at 80 of 488 locally.

Questions people ask

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $59,990 at the tenth percentile, $117,120 at the ninetieth.

What does this pay actually buy where I live?

More than the figure suggests. Prices in Nebraska sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $72,835 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.

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 Nebraska adds its own income tax on top — which is why $65,825 of this wage survives to your account.

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.

What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?

The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($59,990 to $117,120) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.

What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?

Nebraska'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 $72,835 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 $65,825 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.