Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,085
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$25,455
24.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$84,005
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$102,540
Kept after tax
$77,085
Worth in national money
$84,005
State rank
13
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Missouri's middle earner gets $102,540, putting the state 13 of 46 — about 0.84% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Missouri this is well-paid work. Of 488 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 41 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $102,540 you keep $77,085, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $84,005 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $108,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For medical scientists, except epidemiologists, Missouri sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $102,540, ranking 13 of 46 and running about 0.84% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Missouri publishes a median for, medical scientists, except epidemiologists sits 41 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 Missouri income tax, retained pay for medical scientists, except epidemiologists on $102,540 is $77,085. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $84,005 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 $108,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $64,160 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $102,540 |
| Top tenth earn over | $173,480 |
| This salary | $102,540 |
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 Missouri | $77,085 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,967 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$684 |
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 | $97,022 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$945 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $102,540. The published range is $64,160 up to $173,480, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Missouri the take-home figure of $77,085, from $102,540, 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 41 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 $84,005 uses one figure for the whole of Missouri. 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 41.
- Reported values are medians; for medical scientists, except epidemiologists in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $64,160 to $173,480. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $77,085 from $102,540. 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 41 of 488 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $84,005, worked from $102,540, 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 Missouri address, on work sitting at 41 of 488 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 $108,870, 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $64,160 and the top tenth $173,480 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $84,005.
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 Missouri adds its own income tax on top — which is why $77,085 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Missouri is $108,870. 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 ($64,160) and the ninetieth ($173,480) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $84,005 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 $77,085 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.