Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$33,558
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$8,022
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,301
Kansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kansas — 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
$41,580
Kept after tax
$33,558
Worth in national money
$37,301
State rank
26
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kansas sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $41,580, ranking 26 of 45 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Kansas, this one sits low: 384 of 488 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Kansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $41,580 you keep $33,558, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,301 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $40,820, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kansas occupies the middle band for teaching assistants, postsecondary: a median of $41,580, ranking 26 of 45. 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, postsecondary occupies position 384 of 488 in Kansas'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 Kansas income tax, retained pay for teaching assistants, postsecondary on $41,580 is $33,558. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,301 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 $40,820 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in 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, Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $16,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $41,580 |
| Top tenth earn over | $57,270 |
| This salary | $41,580 |
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 Kansas | $33,558 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $35,590 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$677 |
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 | $39,052 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$819 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kansas earn less than $41,580. The published range is $16,640 up to $57,270, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Kansas the take-home figure of $33,558, from $41,580, 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 384 of 488 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kansas, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $37,301, the adjusted value of that $41,580 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 384 of 488 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for teaching assistants, postsecondary in Kansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $16,640 to $57,270. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Kansas is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $33,558 from $41,580. 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 384 of 488 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kansas, so $37,301 — the adjusted value of that $41,580 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 384 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $16,640 at the bottom tenth to $57,270 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Kansas sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $37,301 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Kansas adds its own income tax on top — which is why $33,558 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 45 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($16,640) and the ninetieth ($57,270) 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?
Kansas'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 $37,301 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 $33,558 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kansas 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.