Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$68,121
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$19,339
22.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,107
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$87,460
Kept after tax
$68,121
Worth in national money
$77,107
State rank
6
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Louisiana is one of the better-paying states for zoologists and wildlife biologists. The middle earner takes $87,460, which ranks 6 of 47 states with published figures. That is about 13.91% above the national middle.
- Within Louisiana this is well-paid work. Of 484 occupations with published figures in the state, zoologists and wildlife biologists ranks 69 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Louisiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $87,460 you keep $68,121, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $77,107 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $89,860, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Louisiana ranks 6 of 47 states publishing a median for zoologists and wildlife biologists, at $87,460 — about 13.91% 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 Louisiana publishes a median for, zoologists and wildlife biologists sits 69 of 484 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Louisiana income tax, retained pay for zoologists and wildlife biologists on $87,460 is $68,121. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $77,107 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $89,860 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $65,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $87,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $119,430 |
| This salary | $87,460 |
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 Louisiana | $68,121 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $70,358 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,704 |
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 | $84,279 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,498 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 zoologists and wildlife biologists in Louisiana earn under $87,460 and half over. The published range runs $65,400 at the tenth percentile to $119,430 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $68,121 take-home in Louisiana comes from $87,460. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 69 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Louisiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $77,107, the adjusted value of that $87,460 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 69 of 484 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for zoologists and wildlife biologists in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $65,400 to $119,430; 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.
- Retained pay of $68,121, from $87,460, assumes a single Louisiana filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 69 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 6 of 47 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Louisiana, so $77,107 — the adjusted value of that $87,460 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 69 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $65,400 at the bottom tenth to $119,430 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $77,107 in national terms.
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 Louisiana's own levy, $68,121 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($65,400 to $119,430) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $77,107 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 $68,121 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.