Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$77,021
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$22,889
22.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,180
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
$99,910
Kept after tax
$77,021
Worth in national money
$76,180
State rank
16
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arizona is 16 of 45 states for this job, with a middle wage of $99,910. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Arizona. It ranks 67 out of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $99,910, take-home of $77,021 is worth roughly $76,180 in national money. The average lands at $97,270, below the middle of the range.
- Arizona ranks 16 of 45 for political science teachers, postsecondary at $99,910. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Within Arizona, political science teachers, postsecondary ranks 67 of 491 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.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for political science teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $99,910, the adjusted figure of $76,180 differs little from $77,021 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $97,270 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $99,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $130,530 |
| This salary | $99,910 |
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 | $77,021 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $79,117 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,237 |
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 | $96,932 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,234 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 political science teachers, postsecondary in Arizona earn under $99,910 and half over. The published range runs $60,060 at the tenth percentile to $130,530 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 Arizona's $77,021, worked from $99,910. 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 67 of 491.
- Two cautions on $76,180, the adjusted value of that $99,910 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Arizona. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 67 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for political science teachers, postsecondary in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $60,060 to $130,530; 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 Arizona take-home of $77,021, on $99,910 for work ranking 67 of 491 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 67 of 491 in the state.
- This $76,180 adjusted figure, worked from $99,910, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 67 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 67 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $60,060 at the bottom tenth to $130,530 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $76,180 of national purchasing power.
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, $77,021 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($60,060 to $130,530) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
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 $76,180 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 $77,021 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.
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.