Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,990
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$12,170
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,297
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$63,160
Kept after tax
$50,990
Worth in national money
$52,297
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $63,160, ranking 22 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Against other work in Pennsylvania, this sits in the middle: 208 of 492 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $63,160 the take-home is $50,990, which is worth about $52,297 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $71,090, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania occupies the middle band for career/technical education teachers, postsecondary: a median of $63,160, ranking 22 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary ranks 208 of 492 occupations in Pennsylvania by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for career/technical education teachers, postsecondary on its $63,160 median: $50,990 retained after tax becomes $52,297 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $71,090 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,390 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $103,010 |
| This salary | $63,160 |
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 Pennsylvania | $50,990 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,929 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,170 |
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 | $60,747 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,625 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $63,160. The published range is $44,390 up to $103,010, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $50,990, from $63,160, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 208 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $52,297, the adjusted value of that $63,160 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 208 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for career/technical education teachers, postsecondary in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $44,390 to $103,010. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $50,990 from $63,160. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 208 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $52,297 — the adjusted value of that $63,160 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 208 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $71,090, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $44,390, the highest tenth $103,010, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Pennsylvania sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $52,297 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Pennsylvania's own levy, $50,990 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Pennsylvania is $71,090. 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 ($44,390) and the ninetieth ($103,010) 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?
Pennsylvania'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 $52,297 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 $50,990 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.