English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,086
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$14,244
21.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,691
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
$67,330
Kept after tax
$53,086
Worth in national money
$52,691
State rank
31
of 49 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Virginia is 31 of 49 states for this job, with a middle wage of $67,330. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 184 among 489 occupations Virginia publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Virginia costs about what the country costs, so from $67,330, take-home of $53,086 is worth roughly $52,691 in national money. The average comes to $82,420, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Virginia ranks 31 of 49 for english language and literature teachers, postsecondary at $67,330. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 184 of 489 in Virginia places english language and literature 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.
- Price parity in Virginia is near the national base, so for english language and literature teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $67,330, the adjusted figure of $52,691 differs little from $53,086 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $82,420 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $43,250 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $67,330 |
| Top tenth earn over | $135,710 |
| This salary | $67,330 |
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 | $53,086 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $56,197 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,139 |
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 | $63,355 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,319 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 english language and literature teachers, postsecondary in Virginia earn under $67,330 and half over. The published range runs $43,250 at the tenth percentile to $135,710 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $53,086, from $67,330, 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 184 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $52,691, the adjusted value of that $67,330 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 184 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for english language and literature teachers, postsecondary in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $43,250 to $135,710; 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 Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $53,086 from $67,330. 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 184 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Virginia, so $52,691 — the adjusted value of that $67,330 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 184 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 $82,420, 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 $43,250 and the top tenth $135,710 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $52,691 of national purchasing power.
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 $53,086 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 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 Virginia is $82,420. 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 ($43,250) and the ninetieth ($135,710) 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 $52,691 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 $53,086 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 49 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.