Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,608
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$17,962
22.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$63,796
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$78,570
Kept after tax
$60,608
Worth in national money
$63,796
State rank
19
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Utah pays this job around $78,570 at the midpoint, 19 of 45 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 487 occupations Utah reports figures for, this is number 126.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $78,570 you keep $60,608 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $63,796 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $78,600, since top earners drag the number up.
- For foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary the Utah median is $78,570, ranking 19 of 45 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Utah's occupational distribution, foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary sits at 126 of 487 — 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 in Utah is $60,608 after the full tax stack, from $78,570. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $63,796 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $78,600 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,510 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $122,720 |
| This salary | $78,570 |
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 Utah | $60,608 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,104 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,171 |
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 | $73,600 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,999 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
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 foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary in Utah earn under $78,570 and half over. The published range runs $37,510 at the tenth percentile to $122,720 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Utah's $60,608, worked from $78,570. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 126 of 487.
- One number stands for prices across all of Utah, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $63,796, the adjusted value of that $78,570 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 126 of 487 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary in Utah, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,510 to $122,720; 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.
- The Utah take-home of $60,608, on $78,570 for work ranking 126 of 487 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 126 of 487 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Utah, so $63,796 — the adjusted value of that $78,570 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 126 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $37,510 at the bottom tenth to $122,720 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $63,796.
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 Utah adds its own income tax on top — which is why $60,608 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($37,510) and the ninetieth ($122,720) 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?
Utah'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 $63,796 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 $60,608 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.