Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$74,246
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$22,984
23.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$76,150
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
$97,230
Kept after tax
$74,246
Worth in national money
$76,150
State rank
17
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Pennsylvania is 17 of 45 states for this job, with a middle wage of $97,230. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Pennsylvania this is well-paid work. Of 492 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 75 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Pennsylvania costs about what the country costs, so from $97,230, take-home of $74,246 is worth roughly $76,150 in national money. The average comes to $102,610, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Pennsylvania ranks 17 of 45 for political science teachers, postsecondary at $97,230. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Ranked against every occupation Pennsylvania publishes a median for, political science teachers, postsecondary sits 75 of 492 — 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 Pennsylvania is near the national base, so for political science teachers, postsecondary, whose median is $97,230, the adjusted figure of $76,150 differs little from $74,246 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $102,610 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $61,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $97,230 |
| Top tenth earn over | $152,080 |
| This salary | $97,230 |
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 | $74,246 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $77,231 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,326 |
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 | $92,987 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,595 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $97,230 as a midpoint for Pennsylvania, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $61,350 and the ninetieth is $152,080 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Pennsylvania the take-home figure of $74,246, from $97,230, 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 75 of 492 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $76,150 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 75.
- The Pennsylvania median of $97,230 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $61,350 to $152,080. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Pennsylvania is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $74,246 from $97,230. 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 75 of 492 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $76,150, worked from $97,230, 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 75 of 492 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 $102,610, 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 $61,350 and the top tenth $152,080 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
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 $76,150.
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 Pennsylvania adds its own income tax on top — which is why $74,246 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 45 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 Pennsylvania is $102,610. 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 ($61,350) and the ninetieth ($152,080) 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?
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 $76,150 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 $74,246 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.