Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Maine
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,302
after federal, FICA and Maine tax
Tax takes
$13,288
20.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,806
Maine costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Maine — 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
$63,590
Kept after tax
$50,302
Worth in national money
$51,806
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Maine is 25 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $63,590. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 196 among 484 occupations Maine publishes pay for.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $63,590 the take-home is $50,302, which is worth about $51,806 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $66,830, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Maine ranks 25 of 51 for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education at $63,590. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 196 of 484 in Maine 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.
- Maine's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education on its $63,590 median: $50,302 retained after tax becomes $51,806 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $66,830 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $47,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,590 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,650 |
| This salary | $63,590 |
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 Maine | $50,302 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,275 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,017 |
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 | $59,891 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,649 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Maine earn less than $63,590. The published range is $47,640 up to $80,650, 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 Maine's $50,302, worked from $63,590. 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 196 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,806 uses one figure for the whole of Maine. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 196.
- Reported values are medians; for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Maine the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,640 to $80,650. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Maine take-home of $50,302, on $63,590 for work ranking 196 of 484 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 196 of 484 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,806, worked from $63,590, 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 Maine address, on work sitting at 196 of 484 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 $66,830 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $47,640 at the tenth percentile, $80,650 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 $51,806.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Maine then takes its own share, leaving $50,302.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like 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 Maine is $66,830. 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 ($47,640 to $80,650) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Maine rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Maine'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 $51,806 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 $50,302 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Maine 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.