Biological Scientists, All Other Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $101K, rent takes 21.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,351/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new biological scientists, all others typically earn — is $64K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,827/month. At HUD’s $1,351/month FMR, rent would take 35% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $101K locally vs. $99K nationally, a 2% difference.

Pennsylvania pays $101K median vs. the U.S. average of $99K — that’s +2%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 94.97), the purchasing-power equivalent is $106K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $100,780 a year, that works out to about $48 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $63,790, and experienced biological scientists, all others can clear $164,940. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $6,349/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,351/month, which eats 21.3% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Pennsylvania has a Regional Price Parity of 94.97 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median biological scientists, all other salary is worth about $106,118 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.