Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,927
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$23,443
24.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$79,945
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$95,370
Kept after tax
$71,927
Worth in national money
$79,945
State rank
19
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Alabama is 19 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $95,370. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Alabama. It ranks 62 out of 482 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $95,370 you keep $71,927, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $79,945 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $103,310, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alabama ranks 19 of 49 for social scientists and related workers, all other at $95,370. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Alabama, social scientists and related workers, all other ranks 62 of 482 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for social scientists and related workers, all other on $95,370 is $71,927. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $79,945 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 $103,310 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $74,170 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,370 |
| Top tenth earn over | $142,670 |
| This salary | $95,370 |
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 Alabama | $71,927 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $75,923 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,815 |
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 | $89,690 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,508 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 social scientists and related workers, all other in Alabama earn under $95,370 and half over. The published range runs $74,170 at the tenth percentile to $142,670 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $71,927, worked from $95,370. 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 62 of 482.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $79,945, the adjusted value of that $95,370 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 62 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for social scientists and related workers, all other in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $74,170 to $142,670; 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.
- The Alabama take-home of $71,927, on $95,370 for work ranking 62 of 482 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 62 of 482 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $79,945 — the adjusted value of that $95,370 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 62 of 482 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 $103,310, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $74,170 at the tenth percentile, $142,670 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $79,945 in national terms.
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 Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $71,927 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 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 Alabama is $103,310. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($74,170 to $142,670) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $79,945 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 $71,927 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.