Occupation · SOC 25-1062

Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary: pay and where the jobs are

What area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary earn in the U.S., how pay varies across workers and states, and tools to plan around it.

BLS May 2025 data · methodology

National pay, May 2025

$85,020 median annual wage

Mean (average) annual wage
$98,330
Hourly wages
BLS publishes annual wages only
Employment
11,300

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 25-1062.

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How much do area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary make?

The median annual wage for area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary was $85,020 in May 2025, so half of workers earned more and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $52,070 and the highest-paid 10% more than $160,420. About 11,300 people work in this occupation nationwide. The highest state medians are in New Hampshire ($125,450), Kansas ($107,120) and California ($105,220). New Hampshire also comes out on top after taxes and local prices.

Pay ladder

What each step of the pay range for area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary looks like per month. Take-home here includes federal tax, Social Security and Medicare for a single filer; add your state in the paycheck calculator.

Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary: pay at each percentile
StepAnnualHourlyMonthly grossMonthly after federal tax & FICA
10th percentile$52,070—$4,339$3,668
25th percentile$65,660—$5,472$4,578
Median$85,020—$7,085$5,720
75th percentile$110,710—$9,226$7,226
90th percentile$160,420—$13,368$10,076

Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary: pay by state

38 states and territories have a published median, sorted from highest to lowest. The last two columns are our estimates: the median after 2026 federal and state taxes, and that take-home restated in national-average prices.

1

New Hampshire

$93,132 take-home in national prices

2

Kansas

$87,724 take-home in national prices

3

Maine

$77,751 take-home in national prices

Where a median area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary paycheck goes furthest after 2026 taxes and BEA price levels.

Annual wages by state, May 2025, with after-tax and price-adjusted estimates
StateEmploymentMedian10th pct.90th pct.Median after tax*In national prices†
New Hampshire80$125,450$64,640$211,080$97,011$93,132
Kansas90$107,120$54,770$213,350$79,011$87,724
California770$105,220$67,020$191,720$75,944$68,591
Rhode IslandNot published$104,460$60,790$217,050$77,858$76,122
Maine50$103,060$59,630$159,710$75,458$77,751
New York1,520$101,800$64,330$203,590$75,037$69,530
District of Columbia230$101,700$65,050$224,380$74,700$67,970
Massachusetts610$100,470$66,470$170,300$74,245$70,203
Connecticut310$99,900$62,000$207,640$73,866$71,292
New Jersey480$97,500$53,190$175,970$72,801$66,909
Pennsylvania260$96,010$46,340$132,230$73,358$75,184
Maryland520$91,330$53,110$164,040$69,108$65,843
Illinois220$90,030$48,540$138,010$67,854$67,883
Michigan460$87,840$63,730$158,380$67,143$69,783
Virginia300$85,960$55,010$136,740$65,174$64,463
Indiana260$84,970$52,070$138,330$66,129$70,856
Utah40$82,990$59,310$125,070$63,644$64,376
Alaska80$81,700$73,620$104,240$66,035$64,513
Minnesota280$81,580$60,700$156,540$61,839$62,703
Washington240$81,410$50,230$128,400$64,973$60,715
Oregon340$80,310$48,200$135,840$59,421$57,489
Ohio390$80,060$49,990$131,180$63,387$68,324
Colorado160$79,190$50,700$121,100$61,416$59,597
Wisconsin180$78,770$50,890$136,520$61,077$64,910
Montana90$78,690$48,110$127,080$61,103$64,561
Georgia450$77,630$48,880$131,290$60,317$62,640
Oklahoma50$76,600$19,190$133,090$59,817$68,095
Wyoming40$76,170$50,640$125,200$62,416$67,337
Arizona240$75,680$62,540$106,770$60,573$60,165
Tennessee60$75,060$54,460$136,320$61,635$67,089
Kentucky90$74,690$16,410$133,380$58,878$65,304
Texas830$72,250$44,680$132,950$59,658$61,467
West Virginia40$71,200$56,240$99,690$56,547$63,184
Florida120$66,520$48,210$130,980$55,627$53,790
North Carolina590$66,470$45,470$110,650$53,445$56,660
South Carolina130$64,500$51,490$90,180$52,045$55,515
Alabama50$63,090$47,690$101,820$50,228$56,548
Puerto RicoNot published$46,660$41,480$137,180——

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (released 2026-05-15), SOC 25-1062. *Our estimate for a single filer paid biweekly with no pre-tax deductions or local tax, 2026 federal and state rules. †Take-home ÷ BEA Regional Price Parity × 100 (2024 price levels).

Sources

  1. OEWS May 2025 (oesm25nat.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.
  2. OEWS May 2025 (oesm25st.zip) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed 2026-10-09.