Physics Teachers, Postsecondary in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,638
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$25,222
25.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$78,564
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
$99,860
Kept after tax
$74,638
Worth in national money
$78,564
State rank
19
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Utah sits in the middle of the pack for physics teachers, postsecondary. The median is $99,860, ranking 19 of 47 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Utah. It ranks 64 out of 487 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $99,860 you keep $74,638 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $78,564 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $99,760.
- Utah occupies the middle band for physics teachers, postsecondary: a median of $99,860, ranking 19 of 47. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within Utah, physics teachers, postsecondary ranks 64 of 487 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Utah is $74,638 after the full tax stack, from $99,860. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $78,564 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $99,760 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Physics Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $99,860 |
| Top tenth earn over | $159,570 |
| 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 Utah | $74,638 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $79,082 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,816 |
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 | $93,543 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,890 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Utah earn less than $99,860. The published range is $51,610 up to $159,570, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Utah's $74,638, worked from $99,860. 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 64 of 487.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $78,564 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 64.
- Reported values are medians; for physics teachers, postsecondary in Utah the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,610 to $159,570. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Utah take-home of $74,638, on $99,860 for work ranking 64 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 64 of 487 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $78,564, worked from $99,860, 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 Utah address, on work sitting at 64 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $51,610, the highest tenth $159,570, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
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 $78,564.
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 Utah's own levy, $74,638 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 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 ($51,610) and the ninetieth ($159,570) 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 $78,564 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 $74,638 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 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.