Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Rhode Island
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,028
after federal, FICA and Rhode Island tax
Tax takes
$21,732
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$70,039
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
$92,760
Kept after tax
$71,028
Worth in national money
$70,039
State rank
5
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Rhode Island is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $92,760, which ranks 5 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 44.1% above the national middle.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Rhode Island. It ranks 110 out of 452 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $92,760 the take-home is $71,028, which is worth about $70,039 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is lower, $80,970, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Rhode Island ranks 5 of 51 states publishing a median for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education, at $92,760 — about 44.1% 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.
- Within Rhode Island, middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education ranks 110 of 452 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Rhode Island'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 $92,760 median: $71,028 retained after tax becomes $70,039 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $80,970 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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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 | $46,460 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $92,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $99,150 |
| This salary | $92,760 |
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 | $71,028 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $74,087 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,201 |
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 | $88,412 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,566 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 Rhode Island earn under $92,760 and half over. The published range runs $46,460 at the tenth percentile to $99,150 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $71,028 take-home in Rhode Island comes from $92,760. 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 110 of 452.
- One number stands for prices across all of Rhode Island, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $70,039, the adjusted value of that $92,760 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 110 of 452 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Rhode Island, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $46,460 to $99,150; 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 $71,028, from $92,760, assumes a single Rhode Island 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 110 of 452 locally, and the state ranks 5 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Rhode Island, so $70,039 — the adjusted value of that $92,760 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 110 of 452 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 $80,970 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $46,460 at the bottom tenth to $99,150 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Rhode Island run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $70,039 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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, $71,028 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 Rhode Island is $80,970. 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 ($46,460 to $99,150) 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 $70,039 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 $71,028 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.
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.