Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary in Oklahoma
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,907
after federal, FICA and Oklahoma tax
Tax takes
$12,993
20.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$58,794
Oklahoma costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Oklahoma — 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
$64,900
Kept after tax
$51,907
Worth in national money
$58,794
State rank
42
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Oklahoma. The middle earner gets $64,900. That is 42 of 46 states, and about 23% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Oklahoma reports figures for, this is number 148.
- Here is where Oklahoma does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $64,900 you keep $51,907, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $58,794 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $64,640, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For sociology teachers, postsecondary, Oklahoma sits in the lower band at $64,900, ranking 42 of 46 and trailing the national median by about 23%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Oklahoma's occupational distribution, sociology teachers, postsecondary sits at 148 of 492 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Oklahoma income tax, retained pay for sociology teachers, postsecondary on $64,900 is $51,907. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $58,794 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $64,640 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $88,710 |
| This salary | $64,900 |
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 Oklahoma | $51,907 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,327 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,888 |
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 | $61,888 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,762 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $64,900 as a midpoint for Oklahoma, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $30,710 and the ninetieth is $88,710 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Oklahoma's $51,907, worked from $64,900. 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 148 of 492.
- Two cautions on $58,794, the adjusted value of that $64,900 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Oklahoma. 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 148 of 492 locally.
- The Oklahoma median of $64,900 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $30,710 to $88,710. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Oklahoma take-home of $51,907, on $64,900 for work ranking 148 of 492 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 148 of 492 in the state.
- This $58,794 adjusted figure, worked from $64,900, 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 148 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 148 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $30,710 at the bottom tenth to $88,710 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $58,794.
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 Oklahoma adds its own income tax on top — which is why $51,907 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 46 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($30,710) and the ninetieth ($88,710) 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?
Oklahoma'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 $58,794 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 $51,907 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Oklahoma 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.