Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,693
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$16,787
22.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$67,613
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — 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
$76,480
Kept after tax
$59,693
Worth in national money
$67,613
State rank
40
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Oklahoma. The middle earner gets $76,480. That is 40 of 46 states, and about 26.04% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations Oklahoma reports, this job comes in at 107 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $76,480 you keep $59,693 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $67,613 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $89,160, since top earners drag the number up.
- For medical scientists, except epidemiologists, Oklahoma sits in the lower band at $76,480, ranking 40 of 46 and trailing the national median by about 26.04%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Medical scientists, except epidemiologists ranks 107 of 492 occupations by median in Oklahoma, 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.
- Retained pay in Oklahoma is $59,693 after the full tax stack, from $76,480. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $67,613 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $89,160 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,670 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $140,020 |
| This salary | $76,480 |
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 Oklahoma | $59,693 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,634 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,158 |
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 | $72,299 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,362 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $76,480 as a midpoint for Oklahoma, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $60,670 and the ninetieth is $140,020 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $59,693 take-home in Oklahoma comes from $76,480. 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 107 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $67,613 uses one figure for the whole of Oklahoma. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 107.
- The Oklahoma median of $76,480 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $60,670 to $140,020. 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 $59,693, from $76,480, assumes a single Oklahoma 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 107 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 40 of 46 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $67,613, worked from $76,480, 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 Oklahoma address, on work sitting at 107 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $89,160, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $60,670 at the bottom tenth to $140,020 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Oklahoma sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $67,613 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Oklahoma then takes its own share, leaving $59,693.
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 Oklahoma is $89,160. 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 ($60,670) and the ninetieth ($140,020) 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?
Oklahoma'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 $67,613 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 $59,693 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma 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.