Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Rhode Island

Books, colored pencils and a globe in a bright classroom.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$76,301

after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax

Tax takes

$24,489

24.3% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$75,238

Rhode Island costs more than average

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

$100,790

Kept after tax

$76,301

Worth in national money

$75,238

State rank

12

of 48 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • This is a good state for the work. Rhode Island pays this job a middle wage of $100,790, ranking 12 of 48 states and sitting about 3.93% above the national middle.
  • Locally, this pays well. Among 452 occupations Rhode Island reports, this job comes in at 80 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
  • No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $100,790, take-home of $76,301 is worth roughly $75,238 in national money. The average comes to $103,950, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
  • Rhode Island's median for computer science teachers, postsecondary is $100,790, about 3.93% above the national figure and 12 of 48 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
  • Computer science teachers, postsecondary ranks 80 of 452 occupations by median in Rhode Island, 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.
  • Price parity in Rhode Island is near the national base, so for computer science teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $100,790, the adjusted figure of $75,238 differs little from $76,301 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $103,950 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.

Compare this career across states

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Pay band: Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$60,770
Half earn under$100,790
Top tenth earn over$161,420
This salary$100,790

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

Compare with
+$3,435take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Rhode Island$76,301
Take-home in Texas$79,736
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity+$6,815

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

Moving to
$0now · $100,790$91,376
$91,376in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$95,907
You could take a cut of−$9,414
Prices in Texas97 vs 101

State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.

Sources and assumptions
  • Half the people doing this work in Rhode Island earn less than $100,790. The published range is $60,770 up to $161,420, 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 Rhode Island's $76,301, worked from $100,790. 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 80 of 452.
  • The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $75,238 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 80.
  • Reported values are medians; for computer science teachers, postsecondary in Rhode Island the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $60,770 to $161,420. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
  • The Rhode Island take-home of $76,301, on $100,790 for work ranking 80 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 80 of 452 in the state.
  • Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $75,238, worked from $100,790, 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 Rhode Island address, on work sitting at 80 of 452 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 $103,950 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 $60,770 at the bottom tenth to $161,420 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.

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 $75,238 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.

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; Rhode Island then takes its own share, leaving $76,301.

Why is this job missing from some states?

Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.

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 Rhode Island is $103,950. 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 ($60,770) and the ninetieth ($161,420) 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?

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 $75,238 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 $76,301 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.