Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$69,168
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$22,392
24.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,807
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$91,560
Kept after tax
$69,168
Worth in national money
$72,807
State rank
24
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Utah is 24 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $91,560. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 487 occupations Utah reports, this job comes in at 84 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Utah is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $91,560 the take-home is $69,168; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $72,807 would nationally. The average comes to $95,100, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Utah ranks 24 of 49 for social scientists and related workers, all other at $91,560. 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 84 of 487 occupations by median in Utah, 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.
- Post-tax income for social scientists and related workers, all other in Utah, on $91,560, is $69,168 — equivalent to $72,807 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $95,100 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $71,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $91,560 |
| Top tenth earn over | $128,670 |
| This salary | $91,560 |
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 Utah | $69,168 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $73,242 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,565 |
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 | $85,768 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,543 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
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 Utah earn under $91,560 and half over. The published range runs $71,220 at the tenth percentile to $128,670 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $69,168 take-home in Utah comes from $91,560. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 84 of 487.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $72,807, the adjusted value of that $91,560 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 84 of 487 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for social scientists and related workers, all other in Utah, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $71,220 to $128,670; 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.
- Retained pay of $69,168, from $91,560, assumes a single Utah filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 84 of 487 locally, and the state ranks 24 of 49 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $72,807 — the adjusted value of that $91,560 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 84 of 487 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 $95,100, 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 — $71,220 at the tenth percentile, $128,670 at the ninetieth.
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 $72,807.
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 Utah adds its own income tax on top — which is why $69,168 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 Utah is $95,100. 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 ($71,220 to $128,670) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $72,807 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 $69,168 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.