Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists Salary — Houston, Texas

The average Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists in Houston, Texas earns $60,860 a year.

$60,860 / year, mean
↓ 26.5% below national average 67th percentile in Texas

Houston sits roughly in the middle of the pack for this role within Texas — neither a standout nor a laggard. That's well below the national average for zoologists and wildlife biologists — one of the largest gaps in this dataset. Cost of living here is close to the national average — not a major factor either way. This is a reasonably reliable estimate, though the underlying sample is moderate in size.

Percentile within Texas

0th 50th 100th
Employment (this metro)
180
Estimate confidence
RSE 6.3%
Cost of living 99 #69 most expensive of 188 cities in this dataset 100 = U.S. average · Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
Crime index 2109 #114 safest of 188 cities in this dataset Per 100k residents · Source: FBI Crime Data Explorer
Median home value $308,306 #99 priciest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: zillow_real
Median household income $80,458 #49 highest of 188 cities in this dataset Source: Census Bureau ACS 5-year

Combining these four figures gives a fuller picture than salary alone: Houston ranks #69 for cost of living and #99 for home prices among the 188 cities in this pilot dataset, which matters as much as the headline salary number when comparing where to live.

Santa Cruz $122,660 San Jose $107,240 Seattle $105,140 San Francisco $105,110 Baltimore $97,160 San Diego $96,760 Bremerton $95,240 Kennewick $94,860 New York $94,290 Santa Rosa $92,680 Portland $91,700 Salem $90,870 Wenatchee $90,020 Sacramento $89,820 Los Angeles $88,020 Albany $87,180 Salinas $86,020 Corvallis $85,350 Riverside $85,350 Olympia $84,670 Eugene $83,830 Bend $83,390 Yakima $82,160 Chicago $82,050 Harrisburg $80,060 Medford $79,200 Mount Vernon $78,560 Richmond $78,370 Austin $78,030 Detroit $77,580 Spokane $77,570 Virginia Beach $77,150 Lansing $72,830 Orlando $72,670 Panama City $72,350 Miami $70,880 Tampa $61,590 Gainesville $61,390 Houston $60,860 Dallas $60,480 Naples $59,230 Tallahassee $57,900 Palm Bay $55,240 Jacksonville $52,860 Lakeland $52,760
CityMean salaryvs. Houston
Albany, New York$87,180+43.2%
Austin, Texas$78,030+28.2%
Baltimore, Maryland$97,160+59.6%
Bend, Oregon$83,390+37.0%
Bremerton, Washington$95,240+56.5%
Chicago, Illinois$82,050+34.8%
Corvallis, Oregon$85,350+40.2%
Dallas, Texas$60,480-0.6%
Detroit, Michigan$77,580+27.5%
Eugene, Oregon$83,830+37.7%
Gainesville, Florida$61,390+0.9%
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania$80,060+31.5%
Jacksonville, Florida$52,860-13.1%
Kennewick, Washington$94,860+55.9%
Lakeland, Florida$52,760-13.3%
Lansing, Michigan$72,830+19.7%
Los Angeles, California$88,020+44.6%
Medford, Oregon$79,200+30.1%
Miami, Florida$70,880+16.5%
Mount Vernon, Washington$78,560+29.1%
Naples, Florida$59,230-2.7%
New York, New York$94,290+54.9%
Olympia, Washington$84,670+39.1%
Orlando, Florida$72,670+19.4%
Palm Bay, Florida$55,240-9.2%
Panama City, Florida$72,350+18.9%
Portland, Oregon$91,700+50.7%
Richmond, Virginia$78,370+28.8%
Riverside, California$85,350+40.2%
Sacramento, California$89,820+47.6%
Salem, Oregon$90,870+49.3%
Salinas, California$86,020+41.3%
San Diego, California$96,760+59.0%
San Francisco, California$105,110+72.7%
San Jose, California$107,240+76.2%
Santa Cruz, California$122,660+101.5%
Santa Rosa, California$92,680+52.3%
Seattle, Washington$105,140+72.8%
Spokane, Washington$77,570+27.5%
Tallahassee, Florida$57,900-4.9%
Tampa, Florida$61,590+1.2%
Virginia Beach, Virginia$77,150+26.8%
Wenatchee, Washington$90,020+47.9%
Yakima, Washington$82,160+35.0%
Gross salary
60,860/yr
Estimated take-home
51,081/yr
Est. total withheld
16.1%

Single filer, federal income tax + FICA only, 2025 rates — Texas has no state income tax on wages. Does not include state-specific payroll withholdings beyond income tax (see Data transparency). Not tax advice — verify with a professional for your specific situation.

View cost of living in this state All Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists salaries in Texas → All Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists salaries →
Data transparency

Sources used for this page

Official occupation and area metadata behind the visible salary, cost, housing and safety signals.

Occupation 19-1023 SOC code
Official area Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX BLS metro/geographic area
Area code 26420 Stable geographic key
Reference year 2025 BLS OEWS
Cost: bea_realHousing: zillow_realCrime: latest availableNet-pay source: tx_constitucion_verificado 2025
Metro also includes
PasadenaThe Woodlands
No additional caveats are attached to this row.
Methodology

How this page is built

The salary figure is the mean annual wage reported by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program for this occupation and metro area. Percentile and national-average comparisons are calculated directly from the 188 cities currently in this dataset, not from a fixed external benchmark. Cost of living, crime and housing figures come from BEA, FBI and Zillow respectively — see "Data transparency" above for the exact sources and reference years used on this specific page.

Confidence: the RSE (relative standard error) shown under Overview indicates how reliable the salary estimate is for this metro — a lower RSE means a larger underlying sample.

On this page

Where this is

AK HI

Highlighted: Texas

Population (metro area)
7,274,714