Soil and Plant Scientists in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,578
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$23,572
24.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,292
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$95,150
Kept after tax
$71,578
Worth in national money
$78,292
State rank
5
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is one of the better-paying states for soil and plant scientists. The middle earner takes $95,150, which ranks 5 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 20.67% above the national middle.
- Within Idaho this is well-paid work. Of 476 occupations with published figures in the state, soil and plant scientists ranks 62 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Idaho is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $95,150 the take-home is $71,578; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $78,292 would nationally. The average comes to $96,080, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Idaho ranks 5 of 46 states publishing a median for soil and plant scientists, at $95,150 — about 20.67% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Ranked against every occupation Idaho publishes a median for, soil and plant scientists sits 62 of 476 — 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.
- Post-tax income for soil and plant scientists in Idaho, on $95,150, is $71,578 — equivalent to $78,292 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 $96,080 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Soil and Plant Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,440 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $167,960 |
| This salary | $95,150 |
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 Idaho | $71,578 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $75,768 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$321 |
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 | $89,195 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$444 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
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 soil and plant scientists in Idaho earn under $95,150 and half over. The published range runs $58,440 at the tenth percentile to $167,960 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 Idaho's $71,578, worked from $95,150. 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 476.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $78,292 uses one figure for the whole of Idaho. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 476 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 62.
- Figures are distribution medians for soil and plant scientists in Idaho, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $58,440 to $167,960; 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 Idaho take-home of $71,578, on $95,150 for work ranking 62 of 476 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 476 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $78,292, worked from $95,150, 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 Idaho address, on work sitting at 62 of 476 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $58,440 at the bottom tenth to $167,960 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Idaho is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $78,292 in national terms.
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; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $71,578.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($58,440) and the ninetieth ($167,960) 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?
Idaho'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 $78,292 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 $71,578 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.