Soil and Plant Scientists in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,577
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$13,733
21.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,965
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
$65,310
Kept after tax
$51,577
Worth in national money
$51,965
State rank
37
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Delaware is among the lower-paying states for soil and plant scientists. The middle earner takes $65,310, ranking 37 of 46 states — about 17.17% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 445 occupations Delaware reports figures for, this is number 184.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $65,310 the take-home is $51,577, which is worth about $51,965 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $77,740, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Delaware ranks 37 of 46 for soil and plant scientists, with a median of $65,310 — about 17.17% 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.
- In Delaware's occupational distribution, soil and plant scientists sits at 184 of 445 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Delaware's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for soil and plant scientists on its $65,310 median: $51,577 retained after tax becomes $51,965 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $77,740 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Soil and Plant Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $65,310 |
| Top tenth earn over | $107,620 |
| This salary | $65,310 |
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 | $51,577 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,657 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,280 |
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 | $61,477 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,176 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Delaware earn less than $65,310. The published range is $59,500 up to $107,620, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Delaware's $51,577, worked from $65,310. 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 184 of 445.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,965 uses one figure for the whole of Delaware. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 445 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 184.
- Reported values are medians; for soil and plant scientists in Delaware the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $59,500 to $107,620. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Delaware take-home of $51,577, on $65,310 for work ranking 184 of 445 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 184 of 445 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,965, worked from $65,310, 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 Delaware address, on work sitting at 184 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 $77,740, 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 $59,500 at the bottom tenth to $107,620 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 $51,965 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Delaware's own levy, $51,577 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 46 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 $77,740. 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 ($59,500) and the ninetieth ($107,620) 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 $51,965 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 $51,577 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.