Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,075
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$25,455
25.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,908
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$98,530
Kept after tax
$73,075
Worth in national money
$64,908
State rank
3
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays zoologists and wildlife biologists a middle wage of $98,530, ranking 3 of 47 states and sitting about 28.33% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Zoologists and wildlife biologists ranks 134 among 492 occupations California publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $98,530 the take-home is $73,075. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $64,908 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $111,800, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California's median for zoologists and wildlife biologists is $98,530, about 28.33% above the national figure and 3 of 47 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Position 134 of 492 in California places zoologists and wildlife biologists 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 California income tax is $73,075 for zoologists and wildlife biologists, from $98,530. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $64,908. ⚠️ 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 $111,800 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,380 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,530 |
| Top tenth earn over | $177,760 |
| This salary | $98,530 |
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 California | $73,075 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,146 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$15,509 |
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 | $91,321 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$21,423 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $98,530. The published range is $58,380 up to $177,760, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In California the take-home figure of $73,075, from $98,530, 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 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $64,908, the adjusted value of that $98,530 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 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for zoologists and wildlife biologists in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $58,380 to $177,760. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $73,075 from $98,530. 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 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $64,908 — the adjusted value of that $98,530 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 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $111,800, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $58,380 and the top tenth $177,760 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $64,908 rather than its face figure.
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; California then takes its own share, leaving $73,075.
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 47 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 California is $111,800. 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 ($58,380) and the ninetieth ($177,760) 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?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $64,908 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 $73,075 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.