Life Scientists, All Other Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $80K, rent takes 21.4% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,097/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new life scientists, all others typically earn — is $67K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $4,003/month. At HUD’s $1,097/month FMR, rent would take 27% of that take-home — manageable on an entry-level income.

Local pay runs 15% below the national median — $80K here vs. $94K nationally. Cost of living is 11% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Missouri pays $80K median vs. the U.S. average of $94K — that’s -15%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 88.97), the purchasing-power equivalent is $90K — below the national median.

The median is $79,780 a year, that works out to about $38 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $66,720, and experienced life scientists, all others can clear $113,560. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,125/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,097/month, which eats 21.4% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Missouri has a Regional Price Parity of 88.97 (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 life scientists, all other salary is worth about $89,671 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.