Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,854
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$12,526
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,300
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$61,380
Kept after tax
$48,854
Worth in national money
$54,300
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Alabama is 31 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $61,380. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Alabama reports figures for, this is number 179.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $61,380 you keep $48,854, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,300 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $59,590, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Alabama ranks 31 of 51 for elementary school teachers, except special education at $61,380. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Alabama's occupational distribution, elementary school teachers, except special education sits at 179 of 482 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for elementary school teachers, except special education on $61,380 is $48,854. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,300 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $59,590 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,380 |
| Top tenth earn over | $73,950 |
| This salary | $61,380 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $48,854 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,499 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,304 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $58,089 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,578 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of elementary school teachers, except special education in Alabama earn under $61,380 and half over. The published range runs $47,750 at the tenth percentile to $73,950 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Alabama's $48,854, worked from $61,380. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 179 of 482.
- Two cautions on $54,300, the adjusted value of that $61,380 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Alabama. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 179 of 482 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for elementary school teachers, except special education in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,750 to $73,950; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Alabama take-home of $48,854, on $61,380 for work ranking 179 of 482 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 179 of 482 in the state.
- This $54,300 adjusted figure, worked from $61,380, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 179 of 482 in the state. The occupation ranks 179 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $47,750 and the top tenth $73,950, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $54,300.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $48,854 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,750 to $73,950) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $54,300 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $48,854 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.