Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Missouri
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,578
after federal, FICA and Missouri tax
Tax takes
$5,722
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,323
Missouri costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Missouri — 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
$36,300
Kept after tax
$30,578
Worth in national money
$33,323
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Missouri sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $36,300, ranking 23 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Missouri, this one sits low: 436 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Missouri does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $36,300 you keep $30,578, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,323 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $37,090, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Missouri occupies the middle band for teaching assistants, except postsecondary: a median of $36,300, ranking 23 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Teaching assistants, except postsecondary occupies position 436 of 488 in Missouri's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Missouri income tax, retained pay for teaching assistants, except postsecondary on $36,300 is $30,578. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,323 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 $37,090 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,300 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,310 |
| This salary | $36,300 |
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 Missouri | $30,578 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,347 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,065 |
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 | $35,343 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,288 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of teaching assistants, except postsecondary in Missouri earn under $36,300 and half over. The published range runs $28,600 at the tenth percentile to $47,310 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Missouri the take-home figure of $30,578, from $36,300, 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 436 of 488 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $33,323, the adjusted value of that $36,300 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Missouri. 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 436 of 488 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for teaching assistants, except postsecondary in Missouri, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $28,600 to $47,310; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Take-home for Missouri is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,578 from $36,300. 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 436 of 488 locally.
- This $33,323 adjusted figure, worked from $36,300, 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 436 of 488 in the state. The occupation ranks 436 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $28,600 and the top tenth $47,310, so most people doing this work in Missouri sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $33,323.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Missouri then takes its own share, leaving $30,578.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,600 to $47,310) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Missouri rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Missouri'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 $33,323 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 $30,578 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Missouri 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.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.