Food Scientists and Technologists Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $77K, rent takes 27.1% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,318/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new food scientists and technologists typically earn — is $46K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,760/month. At HUD’s $1,318/month FMR, rent would take 48% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 14% below the national median — $77K here vs. $89K nationally. Cost of living is 8% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Des Moines-West Des Moines pays $77K median vs. the U.S. average of $89K — that’s -14%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 91.7), the purchasing-power equivalent is $84K — below the national median.

The median is $76,580 a year, that works out to about $37 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $46,000, and experienced food scientists and technologists can clear $111,310. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,860/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,318/month, which eats 27.1% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Des Moines-West Des Moines has a Regional Price Parity of 91.7 (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 food scientists and technologists salary is worth about $83,511 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.