Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$89,565
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$31,445
26.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$88,318
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$121,010
Kept after tax
$89,565
Worth in national money
$88,318
State rank
2
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Rhode Island pays this job a middle wage of $121,010, ranking 2 of 50 states and sitting about 18.73% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Rhode Island. It ranks 32 out of 452 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $121,010, take-home of $89,565 is worth roughly $88,318 in national money. The average lands at $119,270, below the middle of the range.
- Rhode Island's median for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers is $121,010, about 18.73% above the national figure and 2 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.
- Within Rhode Island, geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers ranks 32 of 452 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.
- Price parity in Rhode Island is near the national base, so for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers, whose median is $121,010, the adjusted figure of $88,318 differs little from $89,565 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $119,270 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $80,570 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $121,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $143,980 |
| This salary | $121,010 |
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 Rhode Island | $89,565 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $93,961 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,374 |
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 | $114,762 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,567 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $121,010 as a midpoint for Rhode Island, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $80,570 and the ninetieth is $143,980 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $89,565 take-home in Rhode Island comes from $121,010. 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 32 of 452.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $88,318 uses one figure for the whole of Rhode Island. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 452 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 32.
- The Rhode Island median of $121,010 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $80,570 to $143,980. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $89,565, from $121,010, assumes a single Rhode Island 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 32 of 452 locally, and the state ranks 2 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $88,318, worked from $121,010, 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 Rhode Island address, on work sitting at 32 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $80,570 and the top tenth $143,980, so most people doing this work in Rhode Island sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $88,318 of national purchasing power.
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 Rhode Island's own levy, $89,565 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($80,570 to $143,980) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Rhode Island rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $88,318 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 $89,565 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.