Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $81K, rent takes 34.8% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,783/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,500/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new environmental science teachers, postsecondaries typically earn — is $49K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,914/month.

Local pay runs 15% below the national median — $81K here vs. $95K nationally.

Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area pays $81K median vs. the U.S. average of $95K — that’s -15%.

The median is $80,680 a year. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $48,570, and experienced environmental science teachers, postsecondaries can clear $104,420. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,126/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,783/month, which eats 34.8% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area has a Regional Price Parity of 100 (100 is the national average). That's right at the national average. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median environmental science teachers, postsecondary salary is worth about $80,680 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.