Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,568
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$17,462
21.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,852
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$83,030
Kept after tax
$65,568
Worth in national money
$64,852
State rank
24
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arizona is 24 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $83,030. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Arizona this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 101 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $83,030 the take-home is $65,568, which is worth about $64,852 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $110,880, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arizona ranks 24 of 49 for biological science teachers, postsecondary at $83,030. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Arizona publishes a median for, biological science teachers, postsecondary sits 101 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for biological science teachers, postsecondary on its $83,030 median: $65,568 retained after tax becomes $64,852 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $110,880 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $169,900 |
| This salary | $83,030 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arizona | $65,568 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,242 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,345 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $80,652 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,001 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arizona earn less than $83,030. The published range is $62,760 up to $169,900, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Arizona's $65,568, worked from $83,030. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 101 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $64,852 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 101.
- Reported values are medians; for biological science teachers, postsecondary in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $62,760 to $169,900. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Arizona take-home of $65,568, on $83,030 for work ranking 101 of 491 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 101 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $64,852, worked from $83,030, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Arizona address, on work sitting at 101 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $110,880, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $62,760 and the top tenth $169,900 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Arizona costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $64,852 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Arizona adds its own income tax on top — which is why $65,568 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arizona is $110,880. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($62,760) and the ninetieth ($169,900) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $64,852 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $65,568 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.