Postsecondary Teachers, All Other in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$41,016
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$10,044
19.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,589
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$51,060
Kept after tax
$41,016
Worth in national money
$45,589
State rank
46
of 48 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $51,060, ranking 46 of 48 states — about 34.23% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 243 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $51,060 the take-home is $41,016; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $45,589 would nationally. The average comes to $52,760, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Alabama ranks 46 of 48 for postsecondary teachers, all other, with a median of $51,060 — about 34.23% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 243 of 482 in Alabama places postsecondary teachers, all other in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for postsecondary teachers, all other in Alabama, on $51,060, is $41,016 — equivalent to $45,589 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $52,760 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Postsecondary Teachers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,420 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $51,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $58,180 |
| This salary | $51,060 |
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 Alabama | $41,016 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $43,207 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,126 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $48,334 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,362 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Alabama earn less than $51,060. The published range is $46,420 up to $58,180, 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 Alabama's $41,016, worked from $51,060. 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 243 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $45,589 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 243.
- Reported values are medians; for postsecondary teachers, all other in Alabama the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,420 to $58,180. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Alabama take-home of $41,016, on $51,060 for work ranking 243 of 482 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 243 of 482 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $45,589, worked from $51,060, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 243 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $52,760, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $46,420 at the tenth percentile, $58,180 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $45,589 in national terms.
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 Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $41,016 of this wage survives to your account.
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 48 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Alabama is $52,760. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($46,420 to $58,180) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $45,589 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 $41,016 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.