Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,575
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$18,105
21.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,226
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$83,680
Kept after tax
$65,575
Worth in national money
$74,226
State rank
26
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Louisiana is 26 of 48 states for this job, with a middle wage of $83,680. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Louisiana. It ranks 76 out of 484 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $83,680 you keep $65,575 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $74,226 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $100,930, since top earners drag the number up.
- Louisiana ranks 26 of 48 for chemistry teachers, postsecondary at $83,680. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Louisiana, chemistry teachers, postsecondary ranks 76 of 484 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Louisiana is $65,575 after the full tax stack, from $83,680. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $74,226 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $100,930 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $64,650 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $162,610 |
| This salary | $83,680 |
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 Louisiana | $65,575 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,699 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,559 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $80,661 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$6,297 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Louisiana earn less than $83,680. The published range is $64,650 up to $162,610, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Louisiana the take-home figure of $65,575, from $83,680, 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 76 of 484 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $74,226 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 76.
- Reported values are medians; for chemistry teachers, postsecondary in Louisiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $64,650 to $162,610. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Louisiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $65,575 from $83,680. 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 76 of 484 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $74,226, worked from $83,680, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 76 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 $100,930, 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 $64,650, the highest tenth $162,610, 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 Louisiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $74,226 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Louisiana adds its own income tax on top — which is why $65,575 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 48 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 Louisiana is $100,930. 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 ($64,650) and the ninetieth ($162,610) 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?
Louisiana'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 $74,226 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 $65,575 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.