Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$66,173
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$19,297
22.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,252
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
$85,470
Kept after tax
$66,173
Worth in national money
$65,252
State rank
3
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Rhode Island pays this job a middle wage of $85,470, ranking 3 of 50 states and sitting about 36.36% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 452 occupations Rhode Island reports figures for, this is number 129.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $85,470 the take-home is $66,173, which is worth about $65,252 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $77,600, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Rhode Island's median for kindergarten teachers, except special education is $85,470, about 36.36% above the national figure and 3 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Rhode Island's occupational distribution, kindergarten teachers, except special education sits at 129 of 452 — 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.
- Rhode Island's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for kindergarten teachers, except special education on its $85,470 median: $66,173 retained after tax becomes $65,252 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $77,600 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $85,470 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,320 |
| This salary | $85,470 |
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 | $66,173 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,958 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,711 |
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 | $81,511 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,889 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Rhode Island earn less than $85,470. The published range is $38,050 up to $99,320, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Rhode Island the take-home figure of $66,173, from $85,470, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 129 of 452 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $65,252 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 129.
- Reported values are medians; for kindergarten teachers, except special education in Rhode Island the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,050 to $99,320. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Rhode Island is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $66,173 from $85,470. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 129 of 452 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $65,252, worked from $85,470, 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 129 of 452 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 $77,600, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $38,050 at the bottom tenth to $99,320 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $65,252 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 Rhode Island's own levy, $66,173 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 50 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release 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 Rhode Island is $77,600. 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 ($38,050 to $99,320) 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 $65,252 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 $66,173 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.