Communications Teachers, Postsecondary in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,167
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$16,623
21.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$62,735
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
$77,790
Kept after tax
$61,167
Worth in national money
$62,735
State rank
23
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $77,790, ranking 23 of 48 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports figures for, this is number 135.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $77,790 the take-home is $61,167, which is worth about $62,735 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $81,430, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Pennsylvania occupies the middle band for communications teachers, postsecondary: a median of $77,790, ranking 23 of 48. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Pennsylvania's occupational distribution, communications teachers, postsecondary sits at 135 of 492 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Pennsylvania's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for communications teachers, postsecondary on its $77,790 median: $61,167 retained after tax becomes $62,735 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $81,430 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Communications Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,950 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,790 |
| Top tenth earn over | $116,140 |
| This salary | $77,790 |
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 | $61,167 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,555 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,667 |
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 | $74,395 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,685 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $77,790 as a midpoint for Pennsylvania, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $48,950 and the ninetieth is $116,140 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $61,167 take-home in Pennsylvania comes from $77,790. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 135 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $62,735 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 135.
- The Pennsylvania median of $77,790 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $48,950 to $116,140. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $61,167, from $77,790, assumes a single Pennsylvania filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 135 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 23 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $62,735, worked from $77,790, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 135 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 $81,430, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $48,950 at the bottom tenth to $116,140 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $62,735 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $61,167.
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 Pennsylvania is $81,430. 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 ($48,950) and the ninetieth ($116,140) 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 $62,735 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 $61,167 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.