Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,671
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$6,439
17.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,565
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$37,110
Kept after tax
$30,671
Worth in national money
$32,565
State rank
27
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Michigan sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $37,110, ranking 27 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Michigan, this one sits low: 438 of 493 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $37,110 you keep $30,671 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $32,565 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $39,730, since top earners drag the number up.
- Michigan occupies the middle band for preschool teachers, except special education: a median of $37,110, ranking 27 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Preschool teachers, except special education occupies position 438 of 493 in Michigan'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.
- Retained pay in Michigan is $30,671 after the full tax stack, from $37,110. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $32,565 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $39,730 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,720 |
| This salary | $37,110 |
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 Michigan | $30,671 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,998 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$363 |
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 | $35,459 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$439 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 Michigan earn under $37,110 and half over. The published range runs $30,310 at the tenth percentile to $50,720 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 Michigan's $30,671, worked from $37,110. 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 438 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $32,565 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 438.
- Figures are distribution medians for preschool teachers, except special education in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,310 to $50,720; 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 Michigan take-home of $30,671, on $37,110 for work ranking 438 of 493 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 438 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $32,565, worked from $37,110, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 438 of 493 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 $39,730, 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?
The range here is narrow. From $30,310 at the bottom tenth to $50,720 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $32,565.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $30,671 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
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 Michigan is $39,730. 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 ($30,310 to $50,720) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $32,565 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 $30,671 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.