Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Utah
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,010
after federal, FICA and Utah tax
Tax takes
$18,170
22.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,219
Utah costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Utah — 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
$79,180
Kept after tax
$61,010
Worth in national money
$64,219
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is strong here. Utah's middle earner gets $79,180, putting the state 8 of 51 — about 23.01% ahead of the national figure.
- Within Utah this is well-paid work. Of 487 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 120 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $79,180 you keep $61,010 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $64,219 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $80,660, since top earners drag the number up.
- For middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education, Utah sits in the upper band nationally: a median of $79,180, ranking 8 of 51 and running about 23.01% above the national midpoint. Nominal advantage of this size is usually, though not always, large enough to survive the state's own tax and price levels.
- Ranked against every occupation Utah publishes a median for, middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education sits 120 of 487 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in Utah is $61,010 after the full tax stack, from $79,180. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $64,219 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $80,660 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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 | $54,940 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,180 |
| Top tenth earn over | $102,400 |
| This salary | $79,180 |
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 Utah | $61,010 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,533 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,190 |
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 | $74,171 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,025 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 95 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $79,180 as a midpoint for Utah, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $54,940 and the ninetieth is $102,400 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Utah the take-home figure of $61,010, from $79,180, 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 120 of 487 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $64,219 uses one figure for the whole of Utah. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 487 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 120.
- The Utah median of $79,180 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $54,940 to $102,400. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Utah is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $61,010 from $79,180. 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 120 of 487 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $64,219, worked from $79,180, 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 Utah address, on work sitting at 120 of 487 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $54,940 and the top tenth $102,400, so most people doing this work in Utah sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $64,219.
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 Utah's own levy, $61,010 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 ($54,940 to $102,400) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Utah rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Utah'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 $64,219 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 $61,010 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Utah 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.