Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,350
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$20,900
24.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$66,274
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
$85,250
Kept after tax
$64,350
Worth in national money
$66,274
State rank
22
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Maine is 22 of 48 states for this job, with a middle wage of $85,250. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 484 occupations Maine reports, this job comes in at 91 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- No great distortion either way. Maine costs about what the country costs, so from $85,250, take-home of $64,350 is worth roughly $66,274 in national money. The average comes to $98,200, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maine ranks 22 of 48 for chemistry teachers, postsecondary at $85,250. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Chemistry teachers, postsecondary ranks 91 of 484 occupations by median in Maine, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Price parity in Maine is near the national base, so for chemistry teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $85,250, the adjusted figure of $66,274 differs little from $64,350 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $98,200 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $85,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $160,030 |
| This salary | $85,250 |
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 | $64,350 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,803 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,529 |
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 | $78,920 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,256 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of chemistry teachers, postsecondary in Maine earn under $85,250 and half over. The published range runs $58,810 at the tenth percentile to $160,030 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Maine the take-home figure of $64,350, from $85,250, 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 91 of 484 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maine, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $66,274, the adjusted value of that $85,250 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 91 of 484 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for chemistry teachers, postsecondary in Maine, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $58,810 to $160,030; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Maine is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $64,350 from $85,250. 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 91 of 484 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maine, so $66,274 — the adjusted value of that $85,250 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 91 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $98,200, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $58,810, the highest tenth $160,030, 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 Maine sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $66,274 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 Maine adds its own income tax on top — which is why $64,350 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 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 Maine is $98,200. 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 ($58,810) and the ninetieth ($160,030) 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 $66,274 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 $64,350 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 48 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.