Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,876
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$11,734
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,026
Kentucky costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kentucky — 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
$60,610
Kept after tax
$48,876
Worth in national money
$54,026
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $60,610, ranking 35 of 51 states — about 5.25% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 199 among 491 occupations Kentucky publishes pay for.
- Kentucky is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $60,610 the take-home is $48,876; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $54,026 would nationally. The average lands at $59,870, below the middle of the range.
- Kentucky ranks 35 of 51 for elementary school teachers, except special education, with a median of $60,610 — about 5.25% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 199 of 491 in Kentucky places elementary school teachers, except special education in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for elementary school teachers, except special education in Kentucky, on $60,610, is $48,876 — equivalent to $54,026 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $59,870 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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 | $45,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,610 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,740 |
| This salary | $60,610 |
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 Kentucky | $48,876 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,880 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,667 |
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 | $58,116 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,016 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kentucky earn less than $60,610. The published range is $45,600 up to $79,740, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Kentucky's $48,876, worked from $60,610. 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 199 of 491.
- Two cautions on $54,026, the adjusted value of that $60,610 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Kentucky. 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 199 of 491 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for elementary school teachers, except special education in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $45,600 to $79,740. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Kentucky take-home of $48,876, on $60,610 for work ranking 199 of 491 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 199 of 491 in the state.
- This $54,026 adjusted figure, worked from $60,610, 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 199 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 199 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $45,600 at the tenth percentile, $79,740 at the ninetieth.
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 $54,026.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Kentucky then takes its own share, leaving $48,876.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($45,600 to $79,740) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kentucky rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kentucky'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 $54,026 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 $48,876 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kentucky 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.