Social Science Research Assistants in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,783
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$11,467
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$43,332
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
$60,250
Kept after tax
$48,783
Worth in national money
$43,332
State rank
19
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California sits in the middle of the pack for social science research assistants. The median is $60,250, ranking 19 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in California, this sits in the middle: 296 of 492 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $60,250 the take-home is $48,783. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $43,332 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $70,260, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California occupies the middle band for social science research assistants: a median of $60,250, ranking 19 of 45. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Social science research assistants ranks 296 of 492 occupations in California by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $48,783 for social science research assistants, from $60,250. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $43,332. ⚠️ 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 $70,260 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: Social Science Research Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $117,070 |
| This salary | $60,250 |
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 | $48,783 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,591 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,730 |
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 | $58,000 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,558 |
| 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 $60,250. The published range is $38,060 up to $117,070, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In California the take-home figure of $48,783, from $60,250, 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 296 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $43,332, the adjusted value of that $60,250 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 296 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for social science research assistants in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,060 to $117,070. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,783 from $60,250. 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 296 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $43,332 — the adjusted value of that $60,250 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 296 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $70,260 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $38,060 and the top tenth $117,070 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $43,332 rather than its face figure.
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 $48,783 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 45 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 $70,260. 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 ($38,060) and the ninetieth ($117,070) 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 $43,332 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 $48,783 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.