Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary in Connecticut
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,378
after federal, FICA and Connecticut tax
Tax takes
$20,122
23.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$62,088
Connecticut costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Connecticut — 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
$84,500
Kept after tax
$64,378
Worth in national money
$62,088
State rank
12
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Connecticut's middle earner gets $84,500, putting the state 12 of 50 — about 5.18% ahead of the national figure.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Connecticut reports figures for, this is number 139.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $84,500 the take-home is $64,378. But Connecticut costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $62,088 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $97,770, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For psychology teachers, postsecondary, Connecticut sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $84,500, ranking 12 of 50 and running about 5.18% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- In Connecticut's occupational distribution, psychology teachers, postsecondary sits at 139 of 482 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Connecticut income tax is $64,378 for psychology teachers, postsecondary, from $84,500. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $62,088. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $97,770 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,500 |
| Top tenth earn over | $137,140 |
| This salary | $84,500 |
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 Connecticut | $64,378 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,276 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,173 |
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 | $78,960 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,289 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $84,500 as a midpoint for Connecticut, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $60,620 and the ninetieth is $137,140 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $64,378 take-home in Connecticut comes from $84,500. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 139 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $62,088 uses one figure for the whole of Connecticut. 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 139.
- The Connecticut median of $84,500 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $60,620 to $137,140. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $64,378, from $84,500, assumes a single Connecticut filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 139 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 50 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $62,088, worked from $84,500, 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 Connecticut address, on work sitting at 139 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 $97,770, 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 $60,620 at the bottom tenth to $137,140 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 Connecticut run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $62,088 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Connecticut adds its own income tax on top — which is why $64,378 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 Connecticut is $97,770. 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 ($60,620) and the ninetieth ($137,140) 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?
Connecticut's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $62,088 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 $64,378 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Connecticut 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.