Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,317
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$12,673
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,815
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — 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
$61,990
Kept after tax
$49,317
Worth in national money
$54,815
State rank
33
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Alabama is 33 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $61,990. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 169 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Here is where Alabama does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $61,990 you keep $49,317, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,815 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $62,280, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Alabama ranks 33 of 51 for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education at $61,990. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 169 of 482 in Alabama places secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Alabama income tax, retained pay for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education on $61,990 is $49,317. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,815 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $62,280 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,190 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,990 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,300 |
| This salary | $61,990 |
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 Alabama | $49,317 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,989 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,315 |
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 | $58,665 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,590 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $61,990 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $48,190 and the ninetieth is $76,300 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $49,317 take-home in Alabama comes from $61,990. 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 169 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,815 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 169.
- The Alabama median of $61,990 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $48,190 to $76,300. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $49,317, from $61,990, assumes a single Alabama 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 169 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 33 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,815, worked from $61,990, 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 Alabama address, on work sitting at 169 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $48,190 at the bottom tenth to $76,300 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $54,815 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Alabama's own levy, $49,317 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,190 to $76,300) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama'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 $54,815 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 $49,317 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama 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.