Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,793
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$22,277
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,660
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
$95,070
Kept after tax
$72,793
Worth in national money
$74,660
State rank
18
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 18 of 48 states for this job, with a middle wage of $95,070. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Pennsylvania. It ranks 81 out of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $95,070 the take-home is $72,793, which is worth about $74,660 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $96,320, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania ranks 18 of 48 for chemistry teachers, postsecondary at $95,070. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Pennsylvania, chemistry teachers, postsecondary ranks 81 of 492 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.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for chemistry teachers, postsecondary on its $95,070 median: $72,793 retained after tax becomes $74,660 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $96,320 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,370 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $132,680 |
| This salary | $95,070 |
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 | $72,793 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $75,712 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,253 |
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 | $90,921 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,494 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 Pennsylvania earn under $95,070 and half over. The published range runs $59,370 at the tenth percentile to $132,680 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Pennsylvania's $72,793, worked from $95,070. 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 81 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $74,660, the adjusted value of that $95,070 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 81 of 492 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for chemistry teachers, postsecondary in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $59,370 to $132,680; 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.
- The Pennsylvania take-home of $72,793, on $95,070 for work ranking 81 of 492 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 81 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $74,660 — the adjusted value of that $95,070 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 81 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $59,370, the highest tenth $132,680, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Pennsylvania is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $74,660 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; Pennsylvania then takes its own share, leaving $72,793.
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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($59,370) and the ninetieth ($132,680) 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 $74,660 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 $72,793 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.
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.