Communications Teachers, Postsecondary in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,099
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$22,811
23.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$72,082
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$95,910
Kept after tax
$73,099
Worth in national money
$72,082
State rank
5
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Rhode Island's middle earner gets $95,910, putting the state 5 of 48 — about 22.05% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Rhode Island this is well-paid work. Of 452 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 97 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $95,910 the take-home is $73,099, which is worth about $72,082 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $96,070, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For communications teachers, postsecondary, Rhode Island sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $95,910, ranking 5 of 48 and running about 22.05% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation Rhode Island publishes a median for, communications teachers, postsecondary sits 97 of 452 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Rhode Island's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for communications teachers, postsecondary on its $95,910 median: $73,099 retained after tax becomes $72,082 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $96,070 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 | $66,540 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,640 |
| This salary | $95,910 |
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 Rhode Island | $73,099 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,303 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,439 |
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 | $91,357 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,895 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 communications teachers, postsecondary in Rhode Island earn under $95,910 and half over. The published range runs $66,540 at the tenth percentile to $129,640 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 Rhode Island's $73,099, worked from $95,910. 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 97 of 452.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $72,082 uses one figure for the whole of Rhode Island. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 452 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 97.
- Figures are distribution medians for communications teachers, postsecondary in Rhode Island, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $66,540 to $129,640; 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 Rhode Island take-home of $73,099, on $95,910 for work ranking 97 of 452 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 97 of 452 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $72,082, worked from $95,910, 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 Rhode Island address, on work sitting at 97 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $66,540 and the top tenth $129,640, so most people doing this work in Rhode Island sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Rhode Island run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $72,082 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Rhode Island's own levy, $73,099 remains.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($66,540 to $129,640) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Rhode Island rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $72,082 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $73,099 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.