Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Virginia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,647
after federal, FICA and Virginia tax
Tax takes
$6,493
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,419
Virginia costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Virginia — 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
$37,140
Kept after tax
$30,647
Worth in national money
$30,419
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Virginia sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $37,140, ranking 26 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 Virginia, this one sits low: 442 of 489 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $37,140 the take-home is $30,647, which is worth about $30,419 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $42,490, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Virginia occupies the middle band for preschool teachers, except special education: a median of $37,140, ranking 26 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 442 of 489 in Virginia'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.
- Virginia's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for preschool teachers, except special education on its $37,140 median: $30,647 retained after tax becomes $30,419 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $42,490 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $30,290 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,140 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,710 |
| This salary | $37,140 |
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 Virginia | $30,647 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,022 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,534 |
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 | $35,429 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,064 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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 Virginia earn under $37,140 and half over. The published range runs $30,290 at the tenth percentile to $60,710 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Virginia the take-home figure of $30,647, from $37,140, 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 442 of 489 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Virginia, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $30,419, the adjusted value of that $37,140 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 442 of 489 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for preschool teachers, except special education in Virginia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $30,290 to $60,710; 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 Virginia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,647 from $37,140. 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 442 of 489 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Virginia, so $30,419 — the adjusted value of that $37,140 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 442 of 489 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 $42,490, 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 $30,290 and the top tenth $60,710 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Virginia run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $30,419 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Virginia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $30,647 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 Virginia is $42,490. 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 ($30,290) and the ninetieth ($60,710) 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?
Virginia's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $30,419 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 $30,647 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Virginia 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.