Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists 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
7
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for zoologists and wildlife biologists is strong here. Oregon's middle earner gets $85,150, putting the state 7 of 47 — about 10.9% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Oregon reports figures for, this is number 133.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $85,150, tax leaves $61,833 — and because Oregon is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $59,045 would nationally. Averages run higher here, $85,550, since top earners drag the number up.
- For zoologists and wildlife biologists, Oregon sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $85,150, ranking 7 of 47 and running about 10.9% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Oregon's occupational distribution, zoologists and wildlife biologists sits at 133 of 489 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After tax, $61,833 remains from the Oregon median of $85,150 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $59,045 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $85,550 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $54,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $85,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $113,350 |
| 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
- Treat $85,150 as a midpoint for Oregon, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $54,640 and the ninetieth is $113,350 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $61,833 take-home in Oregon comes from $85,150. 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 133 of 489.
- Two cautions on $59,045, the adjusted value of that $85,150 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Oregon. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 133 of 489 locally.
- The Oregon median of $85,150 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $54,640 to $113,350. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $61,833, from $85,150, assumes a single Oregon 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 133 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 7 of 47 for it.
- This $59,045 adjusted figure, worked from $85,150, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 133 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 133 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $54,640 at the bottom tenth to $113,350 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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?
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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($54,640 to $113,350) 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.