Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,887
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$25,973
26.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,630
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$99,860
Kept after tax
$73,887
Worth in national money
$65,630
State rank
3
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. California's middle earner gets $99,860, putting the state 3 of 45 — about 25.85% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations California reports figures for, this is number 127.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $99,860 the take-home is $73,887. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $65,630 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $116,230, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary, California sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $99,860, ranking 3 of 45 and running about 25.85% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In California's occupational distribution, foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary sits at 127 of 492 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $73,887 for foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary, from $99,860. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $65,630. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $116,230 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,580 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $99,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $208,410 |
| This salary | $99,860 |
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 California | $73,887 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $79,082 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$15,751 |
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 | $92,476 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$21,757 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $99,860. The published range is $45,580 up to $208,410, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In California the take-home figure of $73,887, from $99,860, 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 127 of 492 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $65,630, the adjusted value of that $99,860 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 127 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,580 to $208,410. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for California is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $73,887 from $99,860. 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 127 of 492 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $65,630 — the adjusted value of that $99,860 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 127 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $116,230, 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 $45,580 at the bottom tenth to $208,410 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in California run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $65,630 — 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 California adds its own income tax on top — which is why $73,887 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 45 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 California is $116,230. 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 ($45,580) and the ninetieth ($208,410) 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?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $65,630 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 $73,887 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.