Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $49K, rent takes 46% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,544/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $1,000/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new teaching assistants, postsecondaries typically earn — is $31K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,872/month. At HUD’s $1,544/month FMR, rent would take 82% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 15% above the national median — $49K here vs. $43K nationally.

Rhode Island pays $49K median vs. the U.S. average of $43K — that’s +15%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 101.77), the purchasing-power equivalent is $49K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $49,420 a year. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $31,200, and experienced teaching assistants, postsecondaries can clear $64,880. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,356/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,544/month, which eats 46% 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.

Rhode Island has a Regional Price Parity of 101.77 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median teaching assistants, postsecondary salary is worth about $48,560 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.