Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,374
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$9,606
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,449
Tennessee costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Tennessee — 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
$59,980
Kept after tax
$50,374
Worth in national money
$54,449
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Tennessee pays this job a middle wage of $59,980, 38 of 51 states and about 6.24% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 204 among 491 occupations Tennessee publishes pay for.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $59,980 you keep $50,374, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,449 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $59,850, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Tennessee's $59,980 median for elementary school teachers, except special education places it 38 of 51 states, about 6.24% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 204 of 491 in Tennessee 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.
- After federal, FICA and Tennessee income tax, retained pay for elementary school teachers, except special education on $59,980 is $50,374. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,449 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 $59,850 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in 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 | $48,100 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,840 |
| This salary | $59,980 |
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 Tennessee | $50,374 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,374 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,611 |
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 | $59,980 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,158 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Tennessee earn less than $59,980. The published range is $48,100 up to $76,840, 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 Tennessee's $50,374, worked from $59,980. 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 204 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,449 uses one figure for the whole of Tennessee. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 204.
- Reported values are medians; for elementary school teachers, except special education in Tennessee the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,100 to $76,840. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Tennessee take-home of $50,374, on $59,980 for work ranking 204 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 204 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,449, worked from $59,980, 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 Tennessee address, on work sitting at 204 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $48,100 at the tenth percentile, $76,840 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 $54,449.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $50,374 survives, because Tennessee levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
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 ($48,100 to $76,840) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Tennessee rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Tennessee'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 $54,449 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Tennessee levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $50,374 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.