Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$78,571
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$28,210
26.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,986
Virginia costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Virginia — 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
$106,780
Kept after tax
$78,571
Worth in national money
$77,986
State rank
6
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Virginia pays this job a middle wage of $106,780, ranking 6 of 48 states and sitting about 10.11% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Virginia. It ranks 60 out of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- No great distortion either way. Virginia costs about what the country costs, so from $106,780, take-home of $78,571 is worth roughly $77,986 in national money. The average comes to $120,790, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Virginia's median for computer science teachers, postsecondary is $106,780, about 10.11% above the national figure and 6 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.
- Within Virginia, computer science teachers, postsecondary ranks 60 of 489 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.
- Price parity in Virginia is near the national base, so for computer science teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $106,780, the adjusted figure of $77,986 differs little from $78,571 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $120,790 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $54,950 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $106,780 |
| Top tenth earn over | $200,140 |
| This salary | $106,780 |
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 Virginia | $78,571 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $83,950 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,404 |
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 | $99,134 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,608 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 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 Virginia earn less than $106,780. The published range is $54,950 up to $200,140, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $78,571 take-home in Virginia comes from $106,780. 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 60 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $77,986 uses one figure for the whole of Virginia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 60.
- Reported values are medians; for computer science teachers, postsecondary in Virginia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $54,950 to $200,140. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $78,571, from $106,780, assumes a single Virginia 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 60 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 6 of 48 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $77,986, worked from $106,780, 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 Virginia address, on work sitting at 60 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $120,790, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $54,950 and the top tenth $200,140 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Virginia run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $77,986 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Virginia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $78,571 of this wage survives to your account.
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 Virginia is $120,790. 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 ($54,950) and the ninetieth ($200,140) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Virginia's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $77,986 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 $78,571 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Virginia 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.