History Teachers, Postsecondary in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$75,336
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$23,514
23.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,268
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
$98,850
Kept after tax
$75,336
Worth in national money
$77,268
State rank
10
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pennsylvania is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $98,850, which ranks 10 of 45 states with published figures. That is about 17.93% above the national middle.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports, this job comes in at 63 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $98,850, take-home of $75,336 is worth roughly $77,268 in national money. The average lands at $96,100, below the middle of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 10 of 45 states publishing a median for history teachers, postsecondary, at $98,850 — about 17.93% 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.
- History teachers, postsecondary ranks 63 of 492 occupations by median in Pennsylvania, 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.
- Price parity in Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for history teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $98,850, the adjusted figure of $77,268 differs little from $75,336 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $96,100 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: History Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $127,720 |
| This salary | $98,850 |
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 | $75,336 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,371 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,381 |
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 | $94,536 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,671 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $98,850 as a midpoint for Pennsylvania, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $60,720 and the ninetieth is $127,720 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $75,336 take-home in Pennsylvania comes from $98,850. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 63 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $77,268 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 63.
- The Pennsylvania median of $98,850 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $60,720 to $127,720. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $75,336, from $98,850, assumes a single Pennsylvania filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 63 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 10 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $77,268, worked from $98,850, 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 63 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $60,720 and the top tenth $127,720, so most people doing this work in Pennsylvania sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Pennsylvania is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $77,268 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 Pennsylvania's own levy, $75,336 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($60,720 to $127,720) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
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 $77,268 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 $75,336 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.