Soil and Plant Scientists in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$69,862
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$22,108
24.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,163
New Jersey costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New Jersey — 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
$91,970
Kept after tax
$69,862
Worth in national money
$64,163
State rank
6
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New Jersey pays soil and plant scientists a middle wage of $91,970, ranking 6 of 46 states and sitting about 16.64% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 490 occupations New Jersey reports figures for, this is number 134.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $91,970 the take-home is $69,862. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $64,163 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $91,400, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- New Jersey's median for soil and plant scientists is $91,970, about 16.64% above the national figure and 6 of 46 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In New Jersey's occupational distribution, soil and plant scientists sits at 134 of 490 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $69,862 for soil and plant scientists, from $91,970. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $64,163. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $91,400 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Soil and Plant Scientists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $91,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $128,920 |
| This salary | $91,970 |
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 New Jersey | $69,862 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $73,531 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,506 |
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 | $86,755 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,893 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 New Jersey earn under $91,970 and half over. The published range runs $51,420 at the tenth percentile to $128,920 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In New Jersey the take-home figure of $69,862, from $91,970, 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 134 of 490 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of New Jersey, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $64,163, the adjusted value of that $91,970 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 134 of 490 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for soil and plant scientists in New Jersey, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,420 to $128,920; 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 New Jersey is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $69,862 from $91,970. 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 134 of 490 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for New Jersey, so $64,163 — the adjusted value of that $91,970 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 134 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $51,420 at the bottom tenth to $128,920 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in New Jersey run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $64,163 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; New Jersey then takes its own share, leaving $69,862.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($51,420) and the ninetieth ($128,920) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
New Jersey's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $64,163 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $69,862 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New Jersey 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.