Social Science Research Assistants in Nevada
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$23,482
after federal, FICA and Nevada tax
Tax takes
$3,078
11.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$24,213
Nevada costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nevada — 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
$26,560
Kept after tax
$23,482
Worth in national money
$24,213
State rank
45
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Nevada is among the lower-paying states for social science research assistants. The middle earner takes $26,560, ranking 45 of 45 states — about 57.15% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Nevada, this one sits low: 481 of 485 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $26,560 you keep $23,482 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $24,213 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $32,700, since top earners drag the number up.
- Nevada ranks 45 of 45 for social science research assistants, with a median of $26,560 — about 57.15% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Social science research assistants occupies position 481 of 485 in Nevada's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay in Nevada is $23,482 after the full tax stack, from $26,560. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $24,213 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $32,700 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Social Science Research Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $24,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $26,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,830 |
| This salary | $26,560 |
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 Nevada | $23,482 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $23,482 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$49 |
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 | $26,560 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$57 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $26,560 as a midpoint for Nevada, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $24,960 and the ninetieth is $47,830 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Nevada the take-home figure of $23,482, from $26,560, 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 481 of 485 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $24,213 uses one figure for the whole of Nevada. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 485 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 481.
- The Nevada median of $26,560 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $24,960 to $47,830. 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 Nevada is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $23,482 from $26,560. 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 481 of 485 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $24,213, worked from $26,560, 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 Nevada address, on work sitting at 481 of 485 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 $32,700 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 $24,960 and the top tenth $47,830 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Nevada is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $24,213 in national terms.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $23,482 of this wage reaches your account, because Nevada takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 Nevada is $32,700. 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 ($24,960) and the ninetieth ($47,830) 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?
Nevada'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 $24,213 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Nevada levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $23,482 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.