Operations Research Analysts in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,254
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$26,846
26.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,844
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
$102,100
Kept after tax
$75,254
Worth in national money
$66,844
State rank
8
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for operations research analysts. The middle earner takes $102,100, which ranks 8 of 47 states with published figures. That is about 14.8% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations California reports, operations research analysts comes in at 117 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $102,100 the take-home is $75,254. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $66,844 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $110,860, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California ranks 8 of 47 states publishing a median for operations research analysts, at $102,100 — about 14.8% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Operations research analysts ranks 117 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $75,254 for operations research analysts, from $102,100. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $66,844. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $110,860 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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: Operations Research Analysts
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,510 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $102,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $168,030 |
| This salary | $102,100 |
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 | $75,254 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $80,657 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$16,158 |
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 | $94,419 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$22,319 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
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 operations research analysts in California earn under $102,100 and half over. The published range runs $65,510 at the tenth percentile to $168,030 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $75,254 take-home in California comes from $102,100. 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 117 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $66,844, the adjusted value of that $102,100 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 117 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for operations research analysts in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $65,510 to $168,030; 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.
- Retained pay of $75,254, from $102,100, 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 117 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 8 of 47 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $66,844 — the adjusted value of that $102,100 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 117 of 492 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 $110,860, 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 $65,510 at the bottom tenth to $168,030 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $66,844 of national purchasing power.
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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $75,254 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 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 California is $110,860. 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 ($65,510) and the ninetieth ($168,030) 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 $66,844 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 $75,254 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.