Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,777
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$19,483
23.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,777
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$84,260
Kept after tax
$64,777
Worth in national money
$68,777
State rank
38
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Michigan. The middle earner gets $84,260. That is 38 of 49 states, and about 16.67% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Within Michigan this is well-paid work. Of 493 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 101 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $84,260 you keep $64,777 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $68,777 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $89,450, since top earners drag the number up.
- For social scientists and related workers, all other, Michigan sits in the lower band at $84,260, ranking 38 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 16.67%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Ranked against every occupation Michigan publishes a median for, social scientists and related workers, all other sits 101 of 493 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in Michigan is $64,777 after the full tax stack, from $84,260. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $68,777 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $89,450 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $61,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $131,800 |
| This salary | $84,260 |
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 Michigan | $64,777 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,107 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,310 |
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 | $79,526 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,810 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 Michigan earn under $84,260 and half over. The published range runs $61,210 at the tenth percentile to $131,800 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Michigan the take-home figure of $64,777, from $84,260, 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 101 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $68,777 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 101.
- Figures are distribution medians for social scientists and related workers, all other in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $61,210 to $131,800; 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 Michigan is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $64,777 from $84,260. 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 101 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $68,777, worked from $84,260, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 101 of 493 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 $89,450 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 $61,210 and the top tenth $131,800 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $68,777.
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 Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $64,777 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 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 Michigan is $89,450. 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 ($61,210) and the ninetieth ($131,800) 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?
Michigan'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 $68,777 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 $64,777 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.