Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,399
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$17,751
22.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,190
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$79,150
Kept after tax
$61,399
Worth in national money
$65,190
State rank
18
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Michigan is 18 of 47 states for zoologists and wildlife biologists, with a middle wage of $79,150. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Michigan, this sits in the middle: 125 of 493 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Michigan is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $79,150 the take-home is $61,399; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $65,190 would nationally. The average comes to $79,570, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Michigan ranks 18 of 47 for zoologists and wildlife biologists at $79,150. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Zoologists and wildlife biologists ranks 125 of 493 occupations in Michigan by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for zoologists and wildlife biologists in Michigan, on $79,150, is $61,399 — equivalent to $65,190 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $79,570 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $58,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $104,250 |
| This salary | $79,150 |
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 Michigan | $61,399 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,512 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,197 |
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 | $74,725 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,654 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 Michigan earn under $79,150 and half over. The published range runs $58,720 at the tenth percentile to $104,250 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $61,399 take-home in Michigan comes from $79,150. 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 125 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $65,190 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 125.
- Figures are distribution medians for zoologists and wildlife biologists in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $58,720 to $104,250; 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 $61,399, from $79,150, assumes a single Michigan 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 125 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 18 of 47 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $65,190, worked from $79,150, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 125 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $58,720 at the bottom tenth to $104,250 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Michigan sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $65,190 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $61,399 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($58,720 to $104,250) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $65,190 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 $61,399 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.