Education Teachers, Postsecondary in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,842
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$9,958
20.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,684
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$49,800
Kept after tax
$39,842
Worth in national money
$36,684
State rank
48
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Hawaii. The middle earner gets $49,800. That is 48 of 49 states, and about 33.91% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 316 among 437 occupations Hawaii publishes pay for.
- Hawaii is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $49,800 the take-home is $39,842; in national-average money that behaves like $36,684. The average comes to $60,910, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For education teachers, postsecondary, Hawaii sits in the lower band at $49,800, ranking 48 of 49 and trailing the national median by about 33.91%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 316 of 437 in Hawaii places education teachers, postsecondary in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Take-home for education teachers, postsecondary in Hawaii, on $49,800, is $39,842; deflated by the state's price level, $36,684. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $60,910 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Education Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $49,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $96,650 |
| This salary | $49,800 |
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 Hawaii | $39,842 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $42,194 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,737 |
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 | $46,873 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,147 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Hawaii earn less than $49,800. The published range is $47,190 up to $96,650, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Hawaii the take-home figure of $39,842, from $49,800, 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 316 of 437 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $36,684 uses one figure for the whole of Hawaii. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 437 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 316.
- Reported values are medians; for education teachers, postsecondary in Hawaii the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,190 to $96,650. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Hawaii is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $39,842 from $49,800. 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 316 of 437 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $36,684, worked from $49,800, 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 Hawaii address, on work sitting at 316 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $60,910, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $47,190 and the top tenth $96,650 — 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 Hawaii run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $36,684 — 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 Hawaii adds its own income tax on top — which is why $39,842 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 49 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
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 Hawaii is $60,910. 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 ($47,190) and the ninetieth ($96,650) 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?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $36,684 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 $39,842 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.