Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$68,921
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$23,409
25.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,440
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$92,330
Kept after tax
$68,921
Worth in national money
$69,440
State rank
22
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Delaware is 22 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $92,330. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 445 occupations Delaware reports, this job comes in at 104 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $92,330 the take-home is $68,921, which is worth about $69,440 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $108,500, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Delaware ranks 22 of 49 for social scientists and related workers, all other at $92,330. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Social scientists and related workers, all other ranks 104 of 445 occupations by median in Delaware, 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.
- Delaware's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for social scientists and related workers, all other on its $92,330 median: $68,921 retained after tax becomes $69,440 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $108,500 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 Scientists and Related Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $67,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $92,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $225,300 |
| This salary | $92,330 |
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 Delaware | $68,921 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $73,784 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,489 |
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 | $85,418 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,963 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
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 Delaware earn under $92,330 and half over. The published range runs $67,540 at the tenth percentile to $225,300 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Delaware the take-home figure of $68,921, from $92,330, 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 104 of 445 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Delaware, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $69,440, the adjusted value of that $92,330 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 104 of 445 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for social scientists and related workers, all other in Delaware, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $67,540 to $225,300; 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.
- Take-home for Delaware is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $68,921 from $92,330. 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 104 of 445 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Delaware, so $69,440 — the adjusted value of that $92,330 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 104 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $108,500, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $67,540 at the bottom tenth to $225,300 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Delaware sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $69,440 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Delaware then takes its own share, leaving $68,921.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 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 Delaware is $108,500. 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 ($67,540) and the ninetieth ($225,300) 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?
Delaware'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 $69,440 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 $68,921 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.