Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in Vermont
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,805
after federal, FICA and Vermont tax
Tax takes
$12,265
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,574
Vermont costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Vermont — 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
$63,070
Kept after tax
$50,805
Worth in national money
$52,574
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Vermont sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $63,070, ranking 26 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 453 occupations Vermont reports figures for, this is number 204.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $63,070 you keep $50,805 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $52,574 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $68,410, since top earners drag the number up.
- Vermont occupies the middle band for elementary school teachers, except special education: a median of $63,070, ranking 26 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- In Vermont's occupational distribution, elementary school teachers, except special education sits at 204 of 453 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Retained pay in Vermont is $50,805 after the full tax stack, from $63,070. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $52,574 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $68,410 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,700 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,070 |
| Top tenth earn over | $97,230 |
| This salary | $63,070 |
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 Vermont | $50,805 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,857 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,820 |
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 | $60,516 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,201 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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 Vermont earn under $63,070 and half over. The published range runs $48,700 at the tenth percentile to $97,230 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Vermont's $50,805, worked from $63,070. 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 453.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $52,574 uses one figure for the whole of Vermont. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 453 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 204.
- Figures are distribution medians for elementary school teachers, except special education in Vermont, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,700 to $97,230; 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.
- The Vermont take-home of $50,805, on $63,070 for work ranking 204 of 453 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 453 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $52,574, worked from $63,070, 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 Vermont address, on work sitting at 204 of 453 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 $68,410 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 $48,700 at the bottom tenth to $97,230 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Vermont is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $52,574 in national terms.
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 Vermont's own levy, $50,805 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 Vermont is $68,410. 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 ($48,700) and the ninetieth ($97,230) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Vermont'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 $52,574 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 $50,805 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Vermont 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.