Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$96,251
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$40,739
29.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$85,495
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$136,990
Kept after tax
$96,251
Worth in national money
$85,495
State rank
1
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. California's middle earner gets $136,990, putting the state 1 of 46 — about 32.47% ahead of the national figure.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations California reports, this job comes in at 41 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $136,990, tax leaves $96,251 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $85,495 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $140,120, since top earners drag the number up.
- For medical scientists, except epidemiologists, California sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $136,990, ranking 1 of 46 and running about 32.47% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Medical scientists, except epidemiologists ranks 41 of 492 occupations by median in California, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After tax, $96,251 remains from the California median of $136,990 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $85,495 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $140,120 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $81,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $136,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $180,060 |
| This salary | $136,990 |
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 California | $96,251 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $104,899 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$22,454 |
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 | $124,337 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$31,447 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $136,990. The published range is $81,320 up to $180,060, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $96,251 take-home in California comes from $136,990. 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 41 of 492.
- Two cautions on $85,495, the adjusted value of that $136,990 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of California. 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 41 of 492 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for medical scientists, except epidemiologists in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $81,320 to $180,060. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $96,251, from $136,990, assumes a single California 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 41 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 1 of 46 for it.
- This $85,495 adjusted figure, worked from $136,990, 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 41 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 41 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $81,320 at the bottom tenth to $180,060 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 California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $85,495 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; California then takes its own share, leaving $96,251.
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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($81,320) and the ninetieth ($180,060) 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?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $85,495 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 $96,251 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.