Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in Alaska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$82,648
after federal, FICA and Alaska tax
Tax takes
$22,282
21.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$81,255
Alaska costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alaska — 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
$104,930
Kept after tax
$82,648
Worth in national money
$81,255
State rank
9
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Alaska pays this job a middle wage of $104,930, ranking 9 of 46 states and sitting about 1.47% above the national middle.
- Within Alaska this is well-paid work. Of 430 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 61 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Alaska costs about what the country costs, so from $104,930, take-home of $82,648 is worth roughly $81,255 in national money. The average comes to $118,230, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Alaska's median for medical scientists, except epidemiologists is $104,930, about 1.47% above the national figure and 9 of 46 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Alaska publishes a median for, medical scientists, except epidemiologists sits 61 of 430 — 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.
- Price parity in Alaska is near the national base, so for medical scientists, except epidemiologists, whose median is $104,930, the adjusted figure of $81,255 differs little from $82,648 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $118,230 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $78,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $104,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $156,850 |
| This salary | $104,930 |
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 Alaska | $82,648 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $82,648 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,796 |
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
| To match take-home only | $104,930 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,244 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 102 |
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 medical scientists, except epidemiologists in Alaska earn under $104,930 and half over. The published range runs $78,000 at the tenth percentile to $156,850 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alaska's $82,648, worked from $104,930. 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 61 of 430.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alaska, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $81,255, the adjusted value of that $104,930 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 61 of 430 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for medical scientists, except epidemiologists in Alaska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $78,000 to $156,850; 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.
- The Alaska take-home of $82,648, on $104,930 for work ranking 61 of 430 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 61 of 430 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alaska, so $81,255 — the adjusted value of that $104,930 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 61 of 430 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 $118,230, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $78,000 at the bottom tenth to $156,850 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Alaska run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $81,255 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Most of it arrives. $82,648 lands after tax, since there is no state income tax on wages here — though the federal floor is identical in every state.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 Alaska is $118,230. 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 ($78,000) and the ninetieth ($156,850) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Alaska's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $81,255 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Alaska levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $82,648 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.