Soil and Plant Scientists in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,529
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$16,971
21.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,974
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$77,500
Kept after tax
$60,529
Worth in national money
$66,974
State rank
19
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Nebraska is 19 of 46 states for soil and plant scientists, with a middle wage of $77,500. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 488 occupations Nebraska reports, soil and plant scientists comes in at 115 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $77,500 you keep $60,529 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $66,974 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $76,950.
- Nebraska ranks 19 of 46 for soil and plant scientists at $77,500. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Soil and plant scientists ranks 115 of 488 occupations by median in Nebraska, 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.
- Retained pay in Nebraska is $60,529 after the full tax stack, from $77,500. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $66,974 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $76,950 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Soil and Plant Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,030 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $121,060 |
| This salary | $77,500 |
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 Nebraska | $60,529 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,351 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,781 |
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 | $73,488 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,460 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Nebraska earn less than $77,500. The published range is $40,030 up to $121,060, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Nebraska the take-home figure of $60,529, from $77,500, 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 115 of 488 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Nebraska, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $66,974, the adjusted value of that $77,500 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 115 of 488 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for soil and plant scientists in Nebraska the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $40,030 to $121,060. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Nebraska is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $60,529 from $77,500. 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 115 of 488 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Nebraska, so $66,974 — the adjusted value of that $77,500 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 115 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $40,030 at the bottom tenth to $121,060 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 Nebraska sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $66,974 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 Nebraska's own levy, $60,529 remains.
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 ($40,030) and the ninetieth ($121,060) 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?
Nebraska'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 $66,974 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 $60,529 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.