Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$68,133
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$21,857
24.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,718
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$89,990
Kept after tax
$68,133
Worth in national money
$71,718
State rank
21
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Utah pays this job around $89,990 at the midpoint, 21 of 50 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Within Utah this is well-paid work. Of 487 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 92 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Utah is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $89,990 the take-home is $68,133; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $71,718 would nationally. The average comes to $97,600, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers the Utah median is $89,990, ranking 21 of 50 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Ranked against every occupation Utah publishes a median for, geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers sits 92 of 487 — 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.
- Post-tax income for geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers in Utah, on $89,990, is $68,133 — equivalent to $71,718 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $97,600 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $68,850 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $89,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $132,750 |
| This salary | $89,990 |
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 Utah | $68,133 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $72,138 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,517 |
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 | $84,298 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,477 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $89,990 as a midpoint for Utah, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $68,850 and the ninetieth is $132,750 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $68,133, from $89,990, 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 92 of 487 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $71,718 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 92.
- The Utah median of $89,990 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $68,850 to $132,750. 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 Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $68,133 from $89,990. 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 92 of 487 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $71,718, worked from $89,990, 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 Utah address, on work sitting at 92 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $97,600, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $68,850 at the tenth percentile, $132,750 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Utah sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $71,718 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 Utah's own levy, $68,133 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 Utah is $97,600. 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 ($68,850 to $132,750) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $71,718 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 $68,133 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.