Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$57,543
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$16,377
22.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,571
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$73,920
Kept after tax
$57,543
Worth in national money
$60,571
State rank
28
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah sits in the middle of the pack for zoologists and wildlife biologists. The median is $73,920, ranking 28 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Utah, this sits in the middle: 146 of 487 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Utah does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $73,920 you keep $57,543, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $60,571 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $73,730, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Utah occupies the middle band for zoologists and wildlife biologists: a median of $73,920, ranking 28 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Zoologists and wildlife biologists ranks 146 of 487 occupations in Utah 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.
- After federal, FICA and Utah income tax, retained pay for zoologists and wildlife biologists on $73,920 is $57,543. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $60,571 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 $73,730 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $73,920 |
| Top tenth earn over | $96,100 |
| This salary | $73,920 |
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 Utah | $57,543 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,833 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,031 |
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 | $69,244 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,805 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
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 Utah earn under $73,920 and half over. The published range runs $51,060 at the tenth percentile to $96,100 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Utah's $57,543, worked from $73,920. 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 146 of 487.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $60,571, the adjusted value of that $73,920 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 146 of 487 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for zoologists and wildlife biologists in Utah, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,060 to $96,100; 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.
- The Utah take-home of $57,543, on $73,920 for work ranking 146 of 487 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 146 of 487 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $60,571 — the adjusted value of that $73,920 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 146 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $51,060 and the top tenth $96,100, so most people doing this work in Utah sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Utah is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $60,571 in national terms.
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 Utah adds its own income tax on top — which is why $57,543 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 ($51,060 to $96,100) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $60,571 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 $57,543 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.