Natural Sciences Managers in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$141,002
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$69,228
32.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$125,245
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
$210,230
Kept after tax
$141,002
Worth in national money
$125,245
State rank
3
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays natural sciences managers a middle wage of $210,230, ranking 3 of 48 states and sitting about 25.72% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations California reports, natural sciences managers comes in at 8 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $210,230, tax leaves $141,002 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $125,245 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $223,850, since top earners drag the number up.
- California's median for natural sciences managers is $210,230, about 25.72% above the national figure and 3 of 48 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Natural sciences managers ranks 8 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, $141,002 remains from the California median of $210,230 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $125,245 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $223,850 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Natural Sciences Managers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $130,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $210,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $330,050 |
| This salary | $210,230 |
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 | $141,002 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $156,461 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$35,765 |
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 | $189,370 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$48,649 |
| 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 $210,230. The published range is $130,730 up to $330,050, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind California's $141,002, worked from $210,230. 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 8 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $125,245, the adjusted value of that $210,230 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 8 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for natural sciences managers in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $130,730 to $330,050. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The California take-home of $141,002, on $210,230 for work ranking 8 of 492 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 8 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $125,245 — the adjusted value of that $210,230 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 8 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 $223,850, 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 $130,730 at the bottom tenth to $330,050 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $125,245 rather than its face figure.
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 $141,002.
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 48 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 California is $223,850. 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 ($130,730) and the ninetieth ($330,050) 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 $125,245 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 $141,002 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.