Substitute Teachers, Short-Term in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,675
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$8,795
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$36,238
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
$46,470
Kept after tax
$37,675
Worth in national money
$36,238
State rank
9
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Maryland pays substitute teachers, short-term a middle wage of $46,470, ranking 9 of 50 states and sitting about 11.52% above the national middle.
- Within Maryland this is lower-paid work. Of 489 occupations the state publishes figures for, substitute teachers, short-term ranks 381. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Maryland is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $46,470 the take-home is $37,675; in national-average money that behaves like $36,238. The average lands at $44,000, below the middle of the range.
- Maryland's median for substitute teachers, short-term is $46,470, about 11.52% above the national figure and 9 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Against every occupation Maryland reports, substitute teachers, short-term ranks 381 of 489, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Take-home for substitute teachers, short-term in Maryland, on $46,470, is $37,675; deflated by the state's price level, $36,238. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $44,000 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Substitute Teachers, Short-Term
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $32,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,360 |
| This salary | $46,470 |
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 | $37,675 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,519 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,429 |
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 | $44,175 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$5,357 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maryland earn less than $46,470. The published range is $32,870 up to $47,360, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Maryland the take-home figure of $37,675, from $46,470, 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 381 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $36,238, the adjusted value of that $46,470 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Maryland. 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 381 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for substitute teachers, short-term in Maryland the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $32,870 to $47,360. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Maryland is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $37,675 from $46,470. 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 381 of 489 locally.
- This $36,238 adjusted figure, worked from $46,470, 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 381 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 381 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 $44,000, 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 — $32,870 at the tenth percentile, $47,360 at the ninetieth.
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 $36,238 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Maryland's own levy, $37,675 remains.
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 Maryland is $44,000. 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 ($32,870 to $47,360) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
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 $36,238 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 $37,675 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.