Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$93,071
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$34,159
26.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$98,818
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$127,230
Kept after tax
$93,071
Worth in national money
$98,818
State rank
6
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Michigan is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $127,230, which ranks 6 of 48 states with published figures. That is about 16.44% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 493 occupations Michigan reports, this job comes in at 23 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Michigan is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $127,230 the take-home is $93,071; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $98,818 would nationally. The average comes to $138,990, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Michigan ranks 6 of 48 states publishing a median for engineering teachers, postsecondary, at $127,230 — about 16.44% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Engineering teachers, postsecondary ranks 23 of 493 occupations by median in Michigan, 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.
- Post-tax income for engineering teachers, postsecondary in Michigan, on $127,230, is $93,071 — equivalent to $98,818 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $138,990 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $66,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $127,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $225,890 |
| This salary | $127,230 |
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 Michigan | $93,071 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $98,228 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,265 |
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 | $119,746 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,220 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 engineering teachers, postsecondary in Michigan earn under $127,230 and half over. The published range runs $66,580 at the tenth percentile to $225,890 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Michigan the take-home figure of $93,071, from $127,230, 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 23 of 493 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $98,818 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 23.
- Figures are distribution medians for engineering teachers, postsecondary in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $66,580 to $225,890; 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 Michigan is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $93,071 from $127,230. 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 23 of 493 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $98,818, worked from $127,230, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 23 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $138,990, 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 $66,580 at the bottom tenth to $225,890 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Michigan is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $98,818 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Michigan's own levy, $93,071 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 48 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 Michigan is $138,990. 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 ($66,580) and the ninetieth ($225,890) 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?
Michigan'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 $98,818 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 $93,071 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.