Start with the answer
Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary pay in Maine and Massachusetts
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary is $96,760 per year in Maine. It is $128,150 per year in Massachusetts. Maine is 24.5% below Massachusetts on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-1065 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 60 wage and salary jobs in Maine and 920 in Massachusetts. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings