What Biochemists and Biophysicists earn in Strafford County, NH
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $131,550: the median annual pay for Biochemists and Biophysicists in Strafford County, NH. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $63.25 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $139,110, which is 5.7% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 13,370 people working in this occupation across the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Strafford County, NH has roughly 132,575 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Biochemists and Biophysicists in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $79,360 a year ($38.15 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $208,710 or more ($100.34 an hour). That is a gap of $129,350 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $103,790 at the 25th percentile and $165,170 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.6 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: $63.25 an hour or $131,550 a year at the median for Strafford County, NH. Before any deductions, that is $10,963 a month, $5,060 every two weeks and $2,530 each week. After taxes the same job pays $48.48 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Strafford County, NH compares
Compared with the New Hampshire average
Pay for Biochemists and Biophysicists in Strafford County, NH is in line with the statewide figure: $131,550 locally against an employment-weighted New Hampshire average of $131,375, a difference of only $175 (0.1%). Within New Hampshire, Strafford County, NH already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Biochemists and Biophysicists is $125,617 across the contiguous United States. At $131,550, Strafford County, NH pays $5,933 more, which is 4.7% 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 Strafford County, NH
Among the 581 occupations with published wages in Strafford County, NH, Biochemists and Biophysicists ranks number 59 by median pay, ahead of about 90% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Natural Sciences Managers at $291,000 a year, which is $159,450 more than the median for Biochemists and Biophysicists.
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 Biochemists and Biophysicists earning the Strafford County, NH median of $131,550, they add up to $30,703. The result is $100,847 of take-home pay a year ($8,404 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $23 goes to taxes and $77 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 23.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $115,800. 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 $20,639, an effective 15.7% 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 $8,156 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,907. FICA totals $10,064, which is 7.7% of gross pay.
State income tax in New Hampshire
New Hampshire does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Biochemists and Biophysicists in Strafford County, NH is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $6,578 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $548 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Strafford County, NH
IRS Statistics of Income data for Strafford County, NH show an average adjusted gross income of $92,275 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 13.1% across all filers. Filers in the $100,000 to under $200,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 11.5%, compared with the 15.7% 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 Strafford County, NH
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Strafford County, NH: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $100,847 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Strafford County, NH, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,600 a month ($19,200 a year), and at $2,093 for two bedrooms. For Biochemists and Biophysicists, a one-bedroom absorbs 19.0% of take-home pay and 14.6% 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 2.6% of gross pay for Biochemists and Biophysicists in Strafford County, NH. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using New Hampshire residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $2,473 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $737, for $3,210 in total. Gasoline in New Hampshire averages $3.25 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,505.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $27,350 a year in Strafford County, NH. Subtract that from $100,847 of take-home pay and $73,497 remains, which is $6,125 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 55.9% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Biochemists and Biophysicists afford to live in Strafford County, NH?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $131,550 that ceiling is $3,289 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,600 is $1,689 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $30.77 an hour; the median for Biochemists and Biophysicists is $63.25, which is 106% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $48.48 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 7.6 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,093 a month means $1,047 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $6,642 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $80,139.
How fast you can save
At $6,125 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 2 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 4 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Biochemists and Biophysicists pay in Strafford County, NH
How much do Biochemists and Biophysicists make per hour in Strafford County, NH?
The median is $63.25 per hour, based on $131,550 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $38.15 at the 10th percentile to $100.34 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Biochemists and Biophysicists take home after taxes in Strafford County, NH?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $131,550 becomes $100,847 a year. That is $8,404 a month, $3,879 every two weeks or $1,939 a week.
How much tax do Biochemists and Biophysicists pay in Strafford County, NH?
Total taxes are $30,703 a year, an effective rate of 23.3%: $20,639 federal income tax, $10,064 FICA and no New Hampshire income tax.
Do Biochemists and Biophysicists earn more in Strafford County, NH than elsewhere in New Hampshire?
It is about the same. The local median of $131,550 is within 0.1% of the New Hampshire average of $131,375.
Can Biochemists and Biophysicists afford a one-bedroom apartment in Strafford County, NH?
A one-bedroom costs $1,600 a month against take-home pay of $8,404, which is 19.0% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $3,289 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Biochemists and Biophysicists in Strafford County, NH?
About $6,125 a month ($73,497 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $27,350 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Strafford County, NH at the 30% guideline?
$30.77 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $19,200 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Biochemists and Biophysicists is $63.25.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 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 New Hampshire 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.