Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$72,157
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$23,824
24.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$69,405
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$95,980
Kept after tax
$72,157
Worth in national money
$69,405
State rank
12
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $95,980, which ranks 12 of 46 states with published figures. That is about 13.87% above the national middle.
- Within Maryland this is well-paid work. Of 489 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 111 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Maryland is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $95,980 the take-home is $72,157; in national-average money that behaves like $69,405. The average comes to $106,300, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Maryland ranks 12 of 46 states publishing a median for sociology teachers, postsecondary, at $95,980 — about 13.87% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Ranked against every occupation Maryland publishes a median for, sociology teachers, postsecondary sits 111 of 489 — 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.
- Take-home for sociology teachers, postsecondary in Maryland, on $95,980, is $72,157; deflated by the state's price level, $69,405. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $106,300 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $54,180 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $172,980 |
| This salary | $95,980 |
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 Maryland | $72,157 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,352 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$9,167 |
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 | $90,016 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$12,662 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $95,980 as a midpoint for Maryland, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $54,180 and the ninetieth is $172,980 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $72,157 take-home in Maryland comes from $95,980. 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 111 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $69,405 uses one figure for the whole of Maryland. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 111.
- The Maryland median of $95,980 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $54,180 to $172,980. 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 $72,157, from $95,980, assumes a single Maryland 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 111 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 12 of 46 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $69,405, worked from $95,980, 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 Maryland address, on work sitting at 111 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $106,300, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $54,180 and the top tenth $172,980 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Maryland run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $69,405 — 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 Maryland adds its own income tax on top — which is why $72,157 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 46 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 Maryland is $106,300. 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 ($54,180) and the ninetieth ($172,980) 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?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $69,405 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 $72,157 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.