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Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary pay in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary is $98,260 per year in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ. It is $150,940 per year in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA. Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ is 34.9% below Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 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 100 wage and salary jobs in Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ and 70 in Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA. 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