Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,611
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$20,469
24.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,513
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$84,080
Kept after tax
$63,611
Worth in national money
$65,513
State rank
21
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Maine is 21 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $84,080. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Maine this is well-paid work. Of 484 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 96 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Maine costs about what the country costs, so from $84,080, take-home of $63,611 is worth roughly $65,513 in national money. The average comes to $97,880, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maine ranks 21 of 49 for biological science teachers, postsecondary at $84,080. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Maine publishes a median for, biological science teachers, postsecondary sits 96 of 484 — 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.
- Price parity in Maine is near the national base, so for biological science teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $84,080, the adjusted figure of $65,513 differs little from $63,611 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $97,880 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $58,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,080 |
| Top tenth earn over | $159,880 |
| This salary | $84,080 |
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 Maine | $63,611 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,980 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,444 |
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 | $77,869 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,138 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maine earn less than $84,080. The published range is $58,610 up to $159,880, 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 Maine's $63,611, worked from $84,080. 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 96 of 484.
- Two cautions on $65,513, the adjusted value of that $84,080 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Maine. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 96 of 484 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for biological science teachers, postsecondary in Maine the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $58,610 to $159,880. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Maine take-home of $63,611, on $84,080 for work ranking 96 of 484 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 96 of 484 in the state.
- This $65,513 adjusted figure, worked from $84,080, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 96 of 484 in the state. The occupation ranks 96 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $97,880, 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 $58,610 and the top tenth $159,880 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $65,513.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Maine then takes its own share, leaving $63,611.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 49 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Maine is $97,880. 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 ($58,610) and the ninetieth ($159,880) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $65,513 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $63,611 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.