Physics Teachers, Postsecondary Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $66K, rent takes 32.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,437/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,300/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new physics teachers, postsecondaries typically earn — is $61K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,662/month. At HUD’s $1,437/month FMR, rent would take 39% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 34% below the national median — $66K here vs. $100K nationally.

Arizona pays $66K median vs. the U.S. average of $100K — that’s -34%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 96.41), the purchasing-power equivalent is $68K — below the national median.

The median is $65,730 a year. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $61,040, and experienced physics teachers, postsecondaries can clear $139,860. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,415/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,437/month, which eats 32.5% 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.

Arizona has a Regional Price Parity of 96.41 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median physics teachers, postsecondary salary is worth about $68,178 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.