Social Science Research Assistants in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,992
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$12,578
20.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,681
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$62,570
Kept after tax
$49,992
Worth in national money
$54,681
State rank
15
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is one of the better-paying states for social science research assistants. The middle earner takes $62,570, which ranks 15 of 45 states with published figures. That is about 0.94% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 476 occupations Idaho reports figures for, this is number 174.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $62,570 you keep $49,992, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,681 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $63,150, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Idaho ranks 15 of 45 states publishing a median for social science research assistants, at $62,570 — about 0.94% 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.
- In Idaho's occupational distribution, social science research assistants sits at 174 of 476 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for social science research assistants on $62,570 is $49,992. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,681 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 $63,150 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Social Science Research Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,770 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,800 |
| This salary | $62,570 |
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 Idaho | $49,992 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,455 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$701 |
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 | $59,505 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$848 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $62,570 as a midpoint for Idaho, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $48,770 and the ninetieth is $80,800 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Idaho the take-home figure of $49,992, from $62,570, 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 174 of 476 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $54,681, the adjusted value of that $62,570 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Idaho. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 174 of 476 locally.
- The Idaho median of $62,570 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $48,770 to $80,800. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Idaho is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $49,992 from $62,570. 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 174 of 476 locally.
- This $54,681 adjusted figure, worked from $62,570, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 174 of 476 in the state. The occupation ranks 174 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $48,770 at the bottom tenth to $80,800 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Idaho sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $54,681 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Idaho adds its own income tax on top — which is why $49,992 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,770 to $80,800) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Idaho rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $54,681 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 $49,992 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.