Pay by state · 49 states

Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary Salary by State (2026)

Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary earn the most in California at $132,960 a year and the least in Oklahoma at $64,450 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $93,250. All 49 states and territories with reported data are ranked below, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$132,960California
National median
$93,250BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$64,450Oklahoma
States reporting
49of 54 OEWS areas

All states

Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of chemistry teachers, postsecondary OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1CACalifornia
$132,960
$102,980$188,8101,650$120,087
2NDNorth Dakota
$111,020
$77,800$132,99060$124,799
3MAMassachusetts
$108,270
$80,930$168,200820$102,376
4DEDelaware
$104,610
$96,400$159,29080$104,811
5MNMinnesota
$104,380
$81,030$168,240430$105,840
6AZArizona
$103,790
$76,540$133,170210$103,092
7DCDistrict of Columbia
$103,370
$81,340$132,350100$94,057
8NHNew Hampshire
$102,220
$83,300$127,68070$98,133
9UTUtah
$102,110
$76,680$127,180200$103,283
10NVNevada
$101,640
$83,670$125,75060$101,661
11MDMaryland
$101,530
$80,680$133,140310$96,733
12OROregon
$101,350
$82,650$130,580460$98,054
13MIMichigan
$101,030
$74,600$129,080560$105,002
14RIRhode Island
$100,920
$66,830$132,530110$98,670
15NYNew York
$99,880
$76,800$129,8801,840$92,549
16ILIllinois
$97,860
$63,490$125,550880$97,901
17COColorado
$96,600
$69,200$110,570330$93,739
18PAPennsylvania
$95,070
$73,730$103,6401,270$97,436
19KSKansas
$93,830
$75,070$135,240170$104,177
20WAWashington
$85,970
$74,110$101,620390$80,336
21GAGeorgia
$85,300
$65,530$119,830500$88,584
22MEMaine
$85,250
$61,450$121,99070$87,841
23NMNew Mexico
$85,240
$67,120$101,31080$92,439
24NENebraska
$85,050
$74,630$97,590150$94,392
25MTMontana
$84,680
$66,640$128,37080$89,471
26LALouisiana
$83,680
$72,330$115,880140$94,868
27WIWisconsin
$83,480
$76,850$108,120450$88,719
28MOMissouri
$83,000
$62,100$123,830460$91,393
29WYWyoming
$82,830
$75,070$101,30030$89,361
30KYKentucky
$82,550
$62,710$130,020250$91,560
31IAIowa
$82,050
$64,100$127,200230$93,491
32WVWest Virginia
$81,830
$64,150$103,28090$91,433
33TXTexas
$81,810
$62,640$105,8201,470$84,291
34NJNew Jersey
$81,600
$62,430$111,000750$74,997
35INIndiana
$81,530
$63,250$103,460530$87,358
36SCSouth Carolina
$81,200
$64,250$105,600270$86,614
37VAVirginia
$80,330
$62,660$106,500760$79,453
38TNTennessee
$79,150
$65,130$111,490370$86,154
39CTConnecticut
$78,820
$70,860$109,450350$76,074
40PRPuerto Rico
$78,640
$71,910$94,730210N/A
41NCNorth Carolina
$78,620
$62,050$103,790900$83,349
42VTVermont
$78,560
$63,470$93,69090$80,198
43OHOhio
$77,910
$62,210$102,030700$83,978
44FLFlorida
$77,630
$62,750$82,290340$75,067
45ALAlabama
$76,430
$63,450$100,110310$86,048
46SDSouth Dakota
$75,810
$61,960$102,50070$85,578
47MSMississippi
$66,420
$51,970$93,000130$76,386
48ARArkansas
$64,720
$62,880$75,890110$74,445
49OKOklahoma
$64,450
$49,180$101,940220$73,370

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary, that changes the ranking: California leads on raw pay at $132,960, while North Dakota leads once prices are taken into account at $124,799.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Chemistry Teacher, Postsecondary pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary the most?

California reports the highest median wage for Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary at $132,960 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by North Dakota ($111,020) and Massachusetts ($108,270).

Which state pays Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary the least?

Oklahoma reports the lowest median for Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary at $64,450 a year, $68,510 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Where do Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary earn the most after cost of living?

Dividing each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity puts North Dakota first at $124,799 in national-average dollars, from a raw median of $111,020. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024.