Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in New York
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$65,128
after federal, FICA and New York tax
Tax takes
$20,632
24.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,513
New York costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in New York — 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
$85,760
Kept after tax
$65,128
Worth in national money
$60,513
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. New York pays this job a middle wage of $85,760, ranking 6 of 51 states and sitting about 34.06% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 158 among 493 occupations New York publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $85,760 the take-home is $65,128. But New York costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $60,513 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $93,400, because the best-paid pull it up.
- New York's median for elementary school teachers, except special education is $85,760, about 34.06% above the national figure and 6 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Position 158 of 493 in New York 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 New York income tax is $65,128 for elementary school teachers, except special education, from $85,760. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $60,513. ⚠️ 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 $93,400 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 | $56,760 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $85,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $136,260 |
| This salary | $85,760 |
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 New York | $65,128 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $69,162 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,659 |
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 | $80,026 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$14,724 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $85,760 as a midpoint for New York, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $56,760 and the ninetieth is $136,260 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $65,128 take-home in New York comes from $85,760. 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 158 of 493.
- Two cautions on $60,513, the adjusted value of that $85,760 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of New York. 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 158 of 493 locally.
- The New York median of $85,760 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $56,760 to $136,260. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $65,128, from $85,760, assumes a single New York 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 158 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 6 of 51 for it.
- This $60,513 adjusted figure, worked from $85,760, 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 158 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 158 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $93,400 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $56,760 at the bottom tenth to $136,260 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $60,513 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and New York's own levy, $65,128 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 New York is $93,400. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($56,760) and the ninetieth ($136,260) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
New York's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $60,513 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 $65,128 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and New York 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.