Life Scientists, All Other Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $123K, rent takes 18.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,437/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new life scientists, all others typically earn — is $105K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $6,299/month. At HUD’s $1,437/month FMR, rent would take 23% of that take-home — manageable on an entry-level income.

Local pay is 31% above the national median — $123K here vs. $94K nationally.

Arizona pays $123K median vs. the U.S. average of $94K — that’s +31%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 96.41), the purchasing-power equivalent is $127K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $122,580 a year, that works out to about $59 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $104,990, and experienced life scientists, all others can clear $196,210. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $7,623/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,437/month, which eats 18.9% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Arizona has a Regional Price Parity of 96.41 (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 life scientists, all other salary is worth about $127,144 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.