Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,150
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$12,620
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,630
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$61,770
Kept after tax
$49,150
Worth in national money
$54,630
State rank
32
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Alabama is 32 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $61,770. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 173 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $61,770 the take-home is $49,150; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $54,630 would nationally. The average lands at $60,320, below the middle of the range.
- Alabama ranks 32 of 51 for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education at $61,770. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 173 of 482 in Alabama places middle school teachers, except special and career/technical 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.
- Post-tax income for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Alabama, on $61,770, is $49,150 — equivalent to $54,630 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $60,320 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,770 |
| Top tenth earn over | $74,090 |
| This salary | $61,770 |
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 Alabama | $49,150 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,812 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,311 |
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 | $58,457 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,586 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Alabama earn under $61,770 and half over. The published range runs $48,320 at the tenth percentile to $74,090 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $49,150 take-home in Alabama comes from $61,770. 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 173 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,630 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 173.
- Figures are distribution medians for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,320 to $74,090; 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.
- Retained pay of $49,150, from $61,770, assumes a single Alabama 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 173 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,630, worked from $61,770, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 173 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $48,320 and the top tenth $74,090, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Alabama is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $54,630 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 Alabama's own levy, $49,150 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,320 to $74,090) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $54,630 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 $49,150 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.