Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,229
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$8,171
17.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$34,845
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$47,400
Kept after tax
$39,229
Worth in national money
$34,845
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. California pays this job a middle wage of $47,400, ranking 6 of 51 states and sitting about 24.28% above the national middle.
- Against 492 occupations California publishes, this job lands at 391. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $47,400 the take-home is $39,229. But California costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $34,845 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $51,190, because the best-paid pull it up.
- California's median for preschool teachers, except special education is $47,400, about 24.28% above the national figure and 6 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within California, this work ranks 391 of 492 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and California income tax is $39,229 for preschool teachers, except special education, from $47,400. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $34,845. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $51,190 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,870 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $47,400 |
| Top tenth earn over | $65,350 |
| This salary | $47,400 |
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 California | $39,229 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $40,266 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,591 |
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 | $46,110 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,971 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $47,400. The published range is $37,870 up to $65,350, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $39,229 take-home in California comes from $47,400. 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 391 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of California, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $34,845, the adjusted value of that $47,400 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 391 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for preschool teachers, except special education in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $37,870 to $65,350. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $39,229, from $47,400, assumes a single California 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 391 of 492 locally, and the state ranks 6 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for California, so $34,845 — the adjusted value of that $47,400 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 391 of 492 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 $51,190, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,870 and the top tenth $65,350, so most people doing this work in California sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $34,845 of national purchasing power.
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; California then takes its own share, leaving $39,229.
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 California is $51,190. 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 ($37,870 to $65,350) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to California rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $34,845 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 $39,229 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.