Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$79,631
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$27,869
25.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,594
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$107,500
Kept after tax
$79,631
Worth in national money
$76,594
State rank
1
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Maryland pays zoologists and wildlife biologists a middle wage of $107,500, ranking 1 of 47 states and sitting about 40.01% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Maryland. It ranks 73 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $107,500 the take-home is $79,631. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $76,594 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $104,320, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Maryland's median for zoologists and wildlife biologists is $107,500, about 40.01% above the national figure and 1 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.
- Within Maryland, zoologists and wildlife biologists ranks 73 of 489 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $79,631 for zoologists and wildlife biologists, from $107,500. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $76,594. ⚠️ 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 $104,320 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in 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 | $63,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $107,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $156,750 |
| This salary | $107,500 |
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 Maryland | $79,631 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $84,456 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,317 |
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 | $100,641 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$14,251 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maryland earn less than $107,500. The published range is $63,060 up to $156,750, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Maryland's $79,631, worked from $107,500. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 73 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $76,594 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. 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 73.
- Reported values are medians; for zoologists and wildlife biologists in Maryland the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $63,060 to $156,750. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Maryland take-home of $79,631, on $107,500 for work ranking 73 of 489 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 73 of 489 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $76,594, worked from $107,500, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 73 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $63,060, the highest tenth $156,750, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $76,594 — 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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $79,631.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 47 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($63,060) and the ninetieth ($156,750) 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?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $76,594 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 $79,631 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.