Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Alaska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,245
after federal, FICA and Alaska tax
Tax takes
$6,885
14.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,584
Alaska costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alaska — 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
$46,130
Kept after tax
$39,245
Worth in national money
$38,584
State rank
9
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alaska is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $46,130, which ranks 9 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 20.95% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Alaska, this one sits low: 358 of 430 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $46,130, tax leaves $39,245, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $38,584 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $50,670, since top earners drag the number up.
- Alaska ranks 9 of 51 states publishing a median for preschool teachers, except special education, at $46,130 — about 20.95% 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.
- Preschool teachers, except special education occupies position 358 of 430 in Alaska's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Because Alaska sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for preschool teachers, except special education — median $46,130 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $39,245 retained, $38,584 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $50,670 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,090 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $46,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,950 |
| This salary | $46,130 |
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 Alaska | $39,245 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $39,245 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,803 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $46,130 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$2,180 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 102 |
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 preschool teachers, except special education in Alaska earn under $46,130 and half over. The published range runs $35,090 at the tenth percentile to $76,950 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 Alaska's $39,245, worked from $46,130. 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 358 of 430.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $38,584 uses one figure for the whole of Alaska. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 430 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 358.
- Figures are distribution medians for preschool teachers, except special education in Alaska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,090 to $76,950; 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 Alaska take-home of $39,245, on $46,130 for work ranking 358 of 430 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 358 of 430 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,584, worked from $46,130, 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 Alaska address, on work sitting at 358 of 430 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 $50,670, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $35,090 and the top tenth $76,950 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $38,584 of national purchasing power.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $39,245 survives, because Alaska levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
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 Alaska is $50,670. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($35,090) and the ninetieth ($76,950) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Alaska's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $38,584 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Alaska levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $39,245 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.