Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,741
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$12,219
19.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,429
Wisconsin costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Wisconsin — 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
$61,960
Kept after tax
$49,741
Worth in national money
$53,429
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Wisconsin is 31 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $61,960. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Wisconsin, this sits in the middle: 228 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Wisconsin is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $61,960 the take-home is $49,741; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $53,429 would nationally. The average comes to $65,220, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Wisconsin ranks 31 of 51 for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education at $61,960. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education ranks 228 of 491 occupations in Wisconsin by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Post-tax income for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Wisconsin, on $61,960, is $49,741 — equivalent to $53,429 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 $65,220 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $47,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,990 |
| This salary | $61,960 |
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 Wisconsin | $49,741 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,965 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$46 |
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 | $59,193 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$56 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
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 Wisconsin earn under $61,960 and half over. The published range runs $47,870 at the tenth percentile to $79,990 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $49,741, from $61,960, 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 228 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $53,429 uses one figure for the whole of Wisconsin. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 228.
- Figures are distribution medians for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,870 to $79,990; 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.
- Take-home for Wisconsin is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $49,741 from $61,960. 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 228 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $53,429, worked from $61,960, 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 Wisconsin address, on work sitting at 228 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $65,220, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $47,870 at the bottom tenth to $79,990 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Wisconsin is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $53,429 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 Wisconsin's own levy, $49,741 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 Wisconsin is $65,220. 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 ($47,870 to $79,990) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Wisconsin rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Wisconsin'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 $53,429 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 $49,741 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Wisconsin 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.