Foresters Salary
Foresters in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX make a median of $75,810 a year, or about $36.45 an hour. The range runs from $54K at the entry level to $109K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 98.07), that's roughly $77,302 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,852/month, about 35.2% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $76K get you in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos’s Regional Price Parity (98.07). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About foresters
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What this looks like in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos
Foresters pay in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos tracks closely to the national median, $76K locally vs. $76K nationwide, a 1% difference. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,852/month, which is 36% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 98.07) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. Use the affordability calculator above to model your specific situation.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for foresters in metros near Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands | $84K | $85K |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington | $82K | $80K |
| Oklahoma City | $51K | $56K |
| Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway | $62K | $69K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX
Entry-level foresters (10th percentile) start around $54K. Mid-career wages sit at $76K. Top earners bring in $109K or more, a $55K spread from bottom to top.
Foresters pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Foresters salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $107K | +40% | 820 |
| Massachusetts | $90K | +17% | 130 |
| Alaska | $87K | +14% | 80 |
| South Carolina | $87K | +14% | 250 |
| Maryland | $86K | +13% | 120 |
| Connecticut | $85K | +11% | 60 |
| Iowa | $83K | +9% | 50 |
| Illinois | $82K | +8% | 220 |
| Oregon | $81K | +7% | 670 |
| Vermont | $81K | +6% | 80 |
| Texas | $80K | +5% | 210 |
| Alabama | $80K | +4% | 240 |
| Washington | $78K | +3% | 950 |
| Pennsylvania | $78K | +2% | 310 |
| North Carolina | $78K | +2% | N/A |
| Georgia | $77K | +1% | 370 |
| Minnesota | $76K | +0% | 390 |
| Colorado | $76K | +0% | 210 |
| Michigan | $76K | -1% | 340 |
| Utah | $75K | -2% | 40 |
| District of Columbia | $75K | -2% | N/A |
| New York | $74K | -4% | 280 |
| Ohio | $73K | -4% | 160 |
| Tennessee | $72K | -6% | 120 |
| Virginia | $72K | -6% | 340 |
| Mississippi | $71K | -7% | 110 |
| Arkansas | $69K | -9% | 130 |
| New Mexico | $69K | -9% | 50 |
| Wyoming | $68K | -11% | 60 |
| Kansas | $68K | -12% | 40 |
| Montana | $67K | -12% | 240 |
| Arizona | $67K | -12% | 70 |
| Maine | $66K | -13% | 70 |
| Wisconsin | $66K | -14% | 570 |
| New Hampshire | $65K | -15% | 110 |
| Idaho | $65K | -15% | 280 |
| South Dakota | $64K | -16% | 120 |
| Florida | $64K | -16% | 380 |
| Missouri | $63K | -17% | 120 |
| West Virginia | $63K | -18% | 100 |
| Indiana | $61K | -20% | 160 |
| Kentucky | $56K | -26% | 120 |
| Nevada | $51K | -33% | N/A |
| Oklahoma | $51K | -33% | 120 |
Showing 1–10 of 44 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track foresters salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos numbers change.
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Frequently asked questions
Can a forester afford a 2BR apartment alone in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $76K, rent takes 36% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,852/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,500/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for foresters in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new foresters typically earn — is $54K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,238/month. At HUD’s $1,852/month FMR, rent would take 57% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is forester a high-paying job in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $76K locally vs. $76K nationally, a 1% difference.
How does Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos compare to the national average for foresters?
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos pays $76K median vs. the U.S. average of $76K — that’s -1%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.07), the purchasing-power equivalent is $77K — still ahead of the national median.
How much do foresters make in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX?
The median is $75,810 a year, that works out to about $36 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $53,960, and experienced foresters can clear $108,680. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $76K enough to live in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,143/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,852/month, which eats 36% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a foresters salary go in Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos?
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos has a Regional Price Parity of 98.07 (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 foresters salary is worth about $77,302 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do foresters get paid the most?
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.
