Life Scientists, All Other Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $84K, rent takes 25.1% 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 life scientists, all others typically earn — is $62K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,744/month. At HUD’s $1,351/month FMR, rent would take 36% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 11% below the national median — $84K here vs. $94K nationally. Cost of living is 5% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Pennsylvania pays $84K median vs. the U.S. average of $94K — that’s -11%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 94.97), the purchasing-power equivalent is $88K — below the national median.

The median is $83,680 a year, that works out to about $40 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $62,400, and experienced life scientists, all others can clear $167,380. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,391/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,351/month, which eats 25.1% 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 life scientists, all other salary is worth about $88,112 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.