Education Teachers, Postsecondary in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,639
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$13,091
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,284
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$63,730
Kept after tax
$50,639
Worth in national money
$56,284
State rank
36
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Alabama pays this job a middle wage of $63,730, 36 of 49 states and about 15.42% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Alabama reports figures for, this is number 156.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $63,730 you keep $50,639, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $56,284 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $68,550, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alabama's $63,730 median for education teachers, postsecondary places it 36 of 49 states, about 15.42% 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 Alabama's occupational distribution, education teachers, postsecondary sits at 156 of 482 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for education teachers, postsecondary on $63,730 is $50,639. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $56,284 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $68,550 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Education Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,730 |
| Top tenth earn over | $100,490 |
| This salary | $63,730 |
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 Alabama | $50,639 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,387 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,345 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $60,310 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,627 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $63,730. The published range is $46,750 up to $100,490, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $50,639 take-home in Alabama comes from $63,730. 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 156 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $56,284 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 156.
- Reported values are medians; for education teachers, postsecondary in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,750 to $100,490. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $50,639, from $63,730, assumes a single Alabama 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 156 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 36 of 49 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $56,284, worked from $63,730, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 156 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $68,550, 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 $46,750 at the bottom tenth to $100,490 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 Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $56,284 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; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $50,639.
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 49 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 Alabama is $68,550. 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 ($46,750) and the ninetieth ($100,490) 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?
Alabama'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 $56,284 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 $50,639 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.