Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$62,820
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$16,160
20.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$62,134
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$78,980
Kept after tax
$62,820
Worth in national money
$62,134
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $78,980, ranking 30 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 491 occupations Arizona reports, this job comes in at 114 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $78,980 the take-home is $62,820, which is worth about $62,134 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $84,560, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arizona occupies the middle band for nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary: a median of $78,980, ranking 30 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary ranks 114 of 491 occupations by median in Arizona, 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.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary on its $78,980 median: $62,820 retained after tax becomes $62,134 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $84,560 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $119,880 |
| This salary | $78,980 |
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 Arizona | $62,820 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,392 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,131 |
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 | $76,745 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,706 |
| 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 Arizona earn less than $78,980. The published range is $50,400 up to $119,880, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $62,820, from $78,980, 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 114 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $62,134 uses one figure for the whole of Arizona. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 114.
- Reported values are medians; for nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary in Arizona the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $50,400 to $119,880. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $62,820 from $78,980. 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 114 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $62,134, worked from $78,980, 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 Arizona address, on work sitting at 114 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $84,560, 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 $50,400 at the bottom tenth to $119,880 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 Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $62,134 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Arizona's own levy, $62,820 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Arizona is $84,560. 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 ($50,400) and the ninetieth ($119,880) 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?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $62,134 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 $62,820 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.