Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Maryland
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,152
after federal, FICA and Maryland tax
Tax takes
$17,528
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,858
Maryland costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maryland — 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
$77,680
Kept after tax
$60,152
Worth in national money
$57,858
State rank
10
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Maryland is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $77,680, which ranks 10 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 21.43% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 172 among 489 occupations Maryland publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $77,680 the take-home is $60,152. But Maryland costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $57,858 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $80,090, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maryland ranks 10 of 51 states publishing a median for elementary school teachers, except special education, at $77,680 — about 21.43% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 172 of 489 in Maryland 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Maryland income tax is $60,152 for elementary school teachers, except special education, from $77,680. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $57,858. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $80,090 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $56,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $107,040 |
| This salary | $77,680 |
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 Maryland | $60,152 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,478 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$7,466 |
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 | $72,952 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,312 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
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 Maryland earn under $77,680 and half over. The published range runs $56,290 at the tenth percentile to $107,040 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $60,152 take-home in Maryland comes from $77,680. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 172 of 489.
- One number stands for prices across all of Maryland, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $57,858, the adjusted value of that $77,680 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 172 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for elementary school teachers, except special education in Maryland, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $56,290 to $107,040; 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.
- Retained pay of $60,152, from $77,680, assumes a single Maryland filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 172 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 10 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Maryland, so $57,858 — the adjusted value of that $77,680 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 172 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $80,090, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $56,290 and the top tenth $107,040, so most people doing this work in Maryland sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $57,858 of national purchasing power.
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; Maryland then takes its own share, leaving $60,152.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Maryland is $80,090. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($56,290 to $107,040) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maryland rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Maryland's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $57,858 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $60,152 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maryland 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.