Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary in New Jersey
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$63,164
after federal, FICA and New Jersey tax
Tax takes
$18,336
22.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,011
New Jersey costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New Jersey — 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
$81,500
Kept after tax
$63,164
Worth in national money
$58,011
State rank
34
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. New Jersey pays this job a middle wage of $81,500, 34 of 48 states and about 15.96% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 490 occupations New Jersey reports figures for, this is number 167.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $81,500 the take-home is $63,164. But New Jersey costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $58,011 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $94,680, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New Jersey's $81,500 median for computer science teachers, postsecondary places it 34 of 48 states, about 15.96% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In New Jersey's occupational distribution, computer science teachers, postsecondary sits at 167 of 490 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and New Jersey income tax is $63,164 for computer science teachers, postsecondary, from $81,500. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $58,011. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $94,680 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $81,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $176,830 |
| This salary | $81,500 |
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 New Jersey | $63,164 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $66,165 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,078 |
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 | $77,233 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$13,921 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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 computer science teachers, postsecondary in New Jersey earn under $81,500 and half over. The published range runs $32,220 at the tenth percentile to $176,830 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In New Jersey the take-home figure of $63,164, from $81,500, 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 167 of 490 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $58,011 uses one figure for the whole of New Jersey. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 167.
- Figures are distribution medians for computer science teachers, postsecondary in New Jersey, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $32,220 to $176,830; 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 New Jersey is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $63,164 from $81,500. 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 167 of 490 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $58,011, worked from $81,500, 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 New Jersey address, on work sitting at 167 of 490 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 $94,680 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?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $32,220, the highest tenth $176,830, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. New Jersey costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $58,011 rather than its face figure.
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; New Jersey then takes its own share, leaving $63,164.
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 New Jersey is $94,680. 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 ($32,220) and the ninetieth ($176,830) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
New Jersey's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $58,011 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 $63,164 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New Jersey 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.