Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,331
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$25,619
25.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$65,136
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$98,950
Kept after tax
$73,331
Worth in national money
$65,136
State rank
2
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- California is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $98,950, which ranks 2 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 53.72% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 132 among 492 occupations California publishes pay for.
- Costs eat into it here. Of $98,950, tax leaves $73,331 — and because California is dearer than average, that stretches only as far as $65,136 would nationally. Here the average runs under the middle, at $94,680.
- California ranks 2 of 51 states publishing a median for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education, at $98,950 — about 53.72% 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.
- Position 132 of 492 in California 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.
- After tax, $73,331 remains from the California median of $98,950 for this occupation. Applying the state's above-average price parity yields $65,136 in national-average terms — the quantity relevant to a relocation decision, and the one absent from essentially every published wage comparison. Mean pay of $94,680 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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 | $62,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,500 |
| This salary | $98,950 |
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 California | $73,331 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,441 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$15,586 |
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 | $91,686 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$21,528 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
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 California earn under $98,950 and half over. The published range runs $62,410 at the tenth percentile to $129,500 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 California's $73,331, worked from $98,950. 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 132 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $65,136 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 132.
- Figures are distribution medians for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education in California, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $62,410 to $129,500; 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 California take-home of $73,331, on $98,950 for work ranking 132 of 492 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 132 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $65,136, worked from $98,950, 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 California address, on work sitting at 132 of 492 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 $94,680, 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 $62,410 at the bottom tenth to $129,500 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. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $65,136 rather than its face figure.
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 California's own levy, $73,331 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 California is $94,680. 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 ($62,410 to $129,500) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $65,136 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 $73,331 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.