What Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists earn in Los Angeles County, CA
According to the latest federal wage data for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area, the median pay for Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in Los Angeles County, CA is $134,890 a year, or $64.85 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $94,707 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Los Angeles County, CA.
The mean wage is $131,870, which is 2.2% below the median, which suggests many workers sit near the top of the pay scale. The survey counts about 8,520 people working in this occupation across the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Los Angeles County, CA has roughly 9,808,667 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $78,270 a year ($37.63 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $165,330 or more ($79.49 an hour). That is a gap of $87,060 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $107,380 at the 25th percentile and $148,480 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.1 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $64.85 an hour or $134,890 a year at the median for Los Angeles County, CA. Before any deductions, that is $11,241 a month, $5,188 every two weeks and $2,594 each week. After taxes the same job pays $45.53 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists this way: "Conduct research dealing with the understanding of human diseases and the improvement of human health. Engage in clinical investigation, research and development, or other related activities."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Plan and direct studies to investigate human or animal disease, preventive methods, and treatments for disease"; "Follow strict safety procedures when handling toxic materials to avoid contamination"; "Evaluate effects of drugs, gases, pesticides, parasites, and microorganisms at various levels"; "Teach principles of medicine and medical and laboratory procedures to physicians, residents, students, and technicians".
Job outlook for Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 181,000 jobs in 2025 to 203,700 in 2035, a change of +12.6%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 10,500 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 5.8% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: doctoral or professional degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $103,410 for this occupation; the Los Angeles County, CA median of $134,890 is 30.4% above it.
How pay in Los Angeles County, CA compares
Compared with the California average
Pay in Los Angeles County, CA runs $8,286 below the California average of $143,176, a gap of 5.8%. A worker who moved to a better-paying part of California would, on paper, gain that difference before taxes. Within California, the highest median we track for this job is $160,180 in Alameda County, CA.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists is $108,099 across the contiguous United States. At $134,890, Los Angeles County, CA pays $26,791 more, which is 24.8% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Los Angeles County, CA
Among the 633 occupations with published wages in Los Angeles County, CA, Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists ranks number 56 by median pay, ahead of about 91% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Chief Executives at $234,290 a year, which is $99,400 more than the median for Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists earning the Los Angeles County, CA median of $134,890, they add up to $40,183. The result is $94,707 of take-home pay a year ($7,892 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $30 goes to taxes and $70 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 29.8%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $119,140. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 24% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $21,441, an effective 15.9% of gross pay, well below the 24% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $8,363 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,956. FICA totals $10,319, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in California
California income tax on this salary is $8,423 a year, or 6.2% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 39% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $702 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Los Angeles County, CA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Los Angeles County, CA show an average adjusted gross income of $101,268 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 16.7% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 12.1%, compared with the 15.9% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Los Angeles County, CA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Los Angeles County, CA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $94,707 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Los Angeles County, CA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $2,402 a month ($28,824 a year), and at $2,964 for two bedrooms. For Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists, a one-bedroom absorbs 30.4% of take-home pay and 21.4% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 2.5% of gross pay for Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in Los Angeles County, CA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using California residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $3,378 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $751, for $4,129 in total. Gasoline in California averages $4.42 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $2,047.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $38,435 a year in Los Angeles County, CA. Subtract that from $94,707 of take-home pay and $56,272 remains, which is $4,689 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 41.7% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Los Angeles County, CA
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Los Angeles County, CA: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Los Angeles County, CA, set beside the California and national medians.
Property taxes in Los Angeles County, CA
Homeowners in Los Angeles County, CA pay a median of $5,675 a year in real estate taxes, 11% above the California median of $5,124 and 82% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $834,200, the median tax bill is 0.68% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists median of $134,890, a tax bill of that size would equal 4.2% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Los Angeles County, CA
Renters in Los Angeles County, CA pay a median gross rent of $1,954 a month in the Census survey, 4% below the California median of $2,036. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $2,402 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $834,200, 14% above the California median of $734,700. Median household income is $90,112, 9% below the California median of $99,122, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 32.0% of that income.
Commuting in Los Angeles County, CA
Workers in Los Angeles County, CA who travel to a workplace spend an average of 30.4 minutes each way, 6% above the California average of 28.7. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 5.1 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 17.1% of workers in Los Angeles County, CA work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists afford to live in Los Angeles County, CA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $134,890 that ceiling is $3,372 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $2,402 is $970 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $46.19 an hour; the median for Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists is $64.85, which is 40% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $45.53 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 12.2 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,964 a month means $1,482 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $11,040 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $67,312.
How fast you can save
At $4,689 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists pay in Los Angeles County, CA
How much do Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists make per hour in Los Angeles County, CA?
The median is $64.85 per hour, based on $134,890 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $37.63 at the 10th percentile to $79.49 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists take home after taxes in Los Angeles County, CA?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $134,890 becomes $94,707 a year. That is $7,892 a month, $3,643 every two weeks or $1,821 a week.
How much tax do Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists pay in Los Angeles County, CA?
Total taxes are $40,183 a year, an effective rate of 29.8%: $21,441 federal income tax, $10,319 FICA and $8,423 California income tax.
Do Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists earn more in Los Angeles County, CA than elsewhere in California?
No. The local median of $134,890 is -5.8% versus the California average of $143,176, a difference of $8,286 a year.
Can Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists afford a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles County, CA?
A one-bedroom costs $2,402 a month against take-home pay of $7,892, which is 30.4% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,372 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists in Los Angeles County, CA?
About $4,689 a month ($56,272 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $38,435 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Los Angeles County, CA at the 30% guideline?
$46.19 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $28,824 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists is $64.85.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the California rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.