Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$69,809
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$21,121
23.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$68,837
Rhode Island costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Rhode Island — 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
$90,930
Kept after tax
$69,809
Worth in national money
$68,837
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Rhode Island is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $90,930, which ranks 5 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 42.14% above the national middle.
- Within Rhode Island this is well-paid work. Of 452 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 112 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $90,930 the take-home is $69,809, which is worth about $68,837 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $79,660, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Rhode Island ranks 5 of 51 states publishing a median for elementary school teachers, except special education, at $90,930 — about 42.14% 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Rhode Island publishes a median for, elementary school teachers, except special education sits 112 of 452 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Rhode Island's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for elementary school teachers, except special education on its $90,930 median: $69,809 retained after tax becomes $68,837 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $79,660 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $45,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $90,930 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,610 |
| This salary | $90,930 |
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 Rhode Island | $69,809 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $72,799 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,078 |
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 | $86,680 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,396 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $90,930 as a midpoint for Rhode Island, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $45,070 and the ninetieth is $99,610 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Rhode Island's $69,809, worked from $90,930. 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 112 of 452.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $68,837 uses one figure for the whole of Rhode Island. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 452 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 112.
- The Rhode Island median of $90,930 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $45,070 to $99,610. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Rhode Island take-home of $69,809, on $90,930 for work ranking 112 of 452 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 112 of 452 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $68,837, worked from $90,930, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Rhode Island address, on work sitting at 112 of 452 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $79,660, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $45,070 at the bottom tenth to $99,610 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Rhode Island costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $68,837 rather than its face figure.
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 Rhode Island adds its own income tax on top — which is why $69,809 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.
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 Rhode Island is $79,660. 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 ($45,070 to $99,610) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Rhode Island rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Rhode Island's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $68,837 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 $69,809 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Rhode Island 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.