Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,134
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$6,626
17.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,958
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$38,760
Kept after tax
$32,134
Worth in national money
$32,958
State rank
45
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Pennsylvania pays this job a middle wage of $38,760, 45 of 50 states and about 23.84% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Pennsylvania this is lower-paid work. Of 492 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 425. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $38,760, take-home of $32,134 is worth roughly $32,958 in national money. The average comes to $42,860, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania's $38,760 median for educational instruction and library workers, all other places it 45 of 50 states, about 23.84% 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.
- Against every occupation Pennsylvania reports, educational instruction and library workers, all other ranks 425 of 492, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for educational instruction and library workers, all other, whose median is $38,760, the adjusted figure of $32,958 differs little from $32,134 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $42,860 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $18,230 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,530 |
| This salary | $38,760 |
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 Pennsylvania | $32,134 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,324 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,335 |
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 | $37,279 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,614 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 educational instruction and library workers, all other in Pennsylvania earn under $38,760 and half over. The published range runs $18,230 at the tenth percentile to $76,530 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $32,134, from $38,760, 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 425 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,958 uses one figure for the whole of Pennsylvania. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 425.
- Figures are distribution medians for educational instruction and library workers, all other in Pennsylvania, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $18,230 to $76,530; 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 Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $32,134 from $38,760. 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 425 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,958, worked from $38,760, 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 Pennsylvania address, on work sitting at 425 of 492 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 $42,860 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $18,230 and the top tenth $76,530 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $32,958.
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 Pennsylvania adds its own income tax on top — which is why $32,134 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 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 Pennsylvania is $42,860. 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 ($18,230) and the ninetieth ($76,530) 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?
Pennsylvania'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 $32,958 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 $32,134 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.