Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,896
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$22,704
23.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$71,881
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$95,600
Kept after tax
$72,896
Worth in national money
$71,881
State rank
4
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Rhode Island pays this job a middle wage of $95,600, ranking 4 of 48 states and sitting about 19.59% above the national middle.
- Within Rhode Island this is well-paid work. Of 452 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 99 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Rhode Island costs about what the country costs, so from $95,600, take-home of $72,896 is worth roughly $71,881 in national money. The average comes to $113,690, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Rhode Island's median for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary is $95,600, about 19.59% above the national figure and 4 of 48 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Ranked against every occupation Rhode Island publishes a median for, mathematical science teachers, postsecondary sits 99 of 452 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Price parity in Rhode Island is near the national base, so for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $95,600, the adjusted figure of $71,881 differs little from $72,896 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $113,690 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $62,810 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,600 |
| Top tenth earn over | $183,740 |
| This salary | $95,600 |
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 Rhode Island | $72,896 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,085 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,415 |
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 | $91,068 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,862 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Rhode Island earn less than $95,600. The published range is $62,810 up to $183,740, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $72,896 take-home in Rhode Island comes from $95,600. 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 99 of 452.
- One number stands for prices across all of Rhode Island, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $71,881, the adjusted value of that $95,600 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 99 of 452 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for mathematical science teachers, postsecondary in Rhode Island the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $62,810 to $183,740. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $72,896, from $95,600, assumes a single Rhode Island 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 99 of 452 locally, and the state ranks 4 of 48 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Rhode Island, so $71,881 — the adjusted value of that $95,600 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 99 of 452 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 $113,690, 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 $62,810 and the top tenth $183,740 — 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 $71,881 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 Rhode Island adds its own income tax on top — which is why $72,896 of this wage survives to your account.
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 Rhode Island is $113,690. 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 ($62,810) and the ninetieth ($183,740) 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?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $71,881 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 $72,896 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.