Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,860
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$10,990
18.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,306
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$59,850
Kept after tax
$48,860
Worth in national money
$55,306
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Louisiana pays this job a middle wage of $59,850, 43 of 51 states and about 16.92% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 192 among 484 occupations Louisiana publishes pay for.
- Louisiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $59,850 the take-home is $48,860; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $55,306 would nationally. The average comes to $61,170, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Louisiana's $59,850 median for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education places it 43 of 51 states, about 16.92% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Position 192 of 484 in Louisiana 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.
- Post-tax income for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Louisiana, on $59,850, is $48,860 — equivalent to $55,306 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $61,170 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $47,590 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,720 |
| This salary | $59,850 |
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 Louisiana | $48,860 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,269 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,575 |
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 | $58,096 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,324 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Louisiana earn less than $59,850. The published range is $47,590 up to $79,720, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $48,860 take-home in Louisiana comes from $59,850. 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 192 of 484.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $55,306 uses one figure for the whole of Louisiana. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 484 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 192.
- Reported values are medians; for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Louisiana the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,590 to $79,720. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $48,860, from $59,850, assumes a single Louisiana 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 192 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 43 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $55,306, worked from $59,850, 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 Louisiana address, on work sitting at 192 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $47,590 and the top tenth $79,720, so most people doing this work in Louisiana sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Louisiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $55,306 in national terms.
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; Louisiana then takes its own share, leaving $48,860.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,590 to $79,720) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $55,306 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 $48,860 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.