Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,257
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$18,743
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,026
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$83,000
Kept after tax
$64,257
Worth in national money
$70,026
State rank
28
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Missouri pays this job around $83,000 at the midpoint, 28 of 48 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 488 occupations Missouri reports, this job comes in at 91 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Missouri is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $83,000 the take-home is $64,257; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $70,026 would nationally. The average comes to $101,260, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For chemistry teachers, postsecondary the Missouri median is $83,000, ranking 28 of 48 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Chemistry teachers, postsecondary ranks 91 of 488 occupations by median in Missouri, 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.
- Post-tax income for chemistry teachers, postsecondary in Missouri, on $83,000, is $64,257 — equivalent to $70,026 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $101,260 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 | $51,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $83,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $169,540 |
| This salary | $83,000 |
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 Missouri | $64,257 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $67,221 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$851 |
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 | $78,787 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,175 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Missouri earn less than $83,000. The published range is $51,840 up to $169,540, 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 Missouri's $64,257, worked from $83,000. 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 91 of 488.
- One number stands for prices across all of Missouri, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $70,026, the adjusted value of that $83,000 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 488 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for chemistry teachers, postsecondary in Missouri the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,840 to $169,540. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Missouri take-home of $64,257, on $83,000 for work ranking 91 of 488 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 91 of 488 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Missouri, so $70,026 — the adjusted value of that $83,000 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 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $101,260 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $51,840 at the bottom tenth to $169,540 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Missouri is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $70,026 in national terms.
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; Missouri then takes its own share, leaving $64,257.
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 Missouri is $101,260. 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 ($51,840) and the ninetieth ($169,540) 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?
Missouri'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 $70,026 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 $64,257 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.