Soil and Plant Scientists in Oregon
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,833
after federal, FICA and Oregon tax
Tax takes
$23,317
27.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,045
Oregon costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oregon — 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
$85,150
Kept after tax
$61,833
Worth in national money
$59,045
State rank
8
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Oregon is one of the better-paying states for soil and plant scientists. The middle earner takes $85,150, which ranks 8 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 7.99% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Soil and plant scientists ranks 132 among 489 occupations Oregon publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $85,150 the take-home is $61,833. But Oregon costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $59,045 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $89,040, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Oregon ranks 8 of 46 states publishing a median for soil and plant scientists, at $85,150 — about 7.99% 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.
- Position 132 of 489 in Oregon places soil and plant scientists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Oregon income tax is $61,833 for soil and plant scientists, from $85,150. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $59,045. ⚠️ 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 $89,040 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $63,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $85,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $117,000 |
| This salary | $85,150 |
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 Oregon | $61,833 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,733 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,686 |
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 | $75,341 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$16,142 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 105 |
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 Oregon earn under $85,150 and half over. The published range runs $63,960 at the tenth percentile to $117,000 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Oregon the take-home figure of $61,833, from $85,150, 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 132 of 489 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $59,045 uses one figure for the whole of Oregon. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 132.
- Figures are distribution medians for soil and plant scientists in Oregon, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $63,960 to $117,000; 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 Oregon is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $61,833 from $85,150. 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 132 of 489 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $59,045, worked from $85,150, 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 Oregon address, on work sitting at 132 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $89,040, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $63,960 and the top tenth $117,000, so most people doing this work in Oregon sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Oregon run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $59,045 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Oregon's own levy, $61,833 remains.
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.
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 Oregon is $89,040. 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 ($63,960 to $117,000) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Oregon rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Oregon's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $59,045 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 $61,833 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oregon 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.