Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,239
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$13,281
20.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$56,951
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
$64,520
Kept after tax
$51,239
Worth in national money
$56,951
State rank
25
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $64,520, ranking 25 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Alabama reports figures for, this is number 149.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $64,520 the take-home is $51,239; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $56,951 would nationally. The average comes to $65,270, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Alabama occupies the middle band for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school: a median of $64,520, ranking 25 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.
- In Alabama's occupational distribution, special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school sits at 149 of 482 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Alabama, on $64,520, is $51,239 — equivalent to $56,951 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 $65,270 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,510 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,520 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,150 |
| This salary | $64,520 |
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 | $51,239 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $54,022 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,359 |
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 | $61,057 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,643 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Alabama earn under $64,520 and half over. The published range runs $50,510 at the tenth percentile to $77,150 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 Alabama's $51,239, worked from $64,520. 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 149 of 482.
- One number stands for prices across all of Alabama, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $56,951, the adjusted value of that $64,520 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 149 of 482 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Alabama, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $50,510 to $77,150; 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 Alabama take-home of $51,239, on $64,520 for work ranking 149 of 482 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 149 of 482 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Alabama, so $56,951 — the adjusted value of that $64,520 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 149 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $50,510 at the tenth percentile, $77,150 at the ninetieth.
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 $56,951 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Alabama adds its own income tax on top — which is why $51,239 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($50,510 to $77,150) 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 $56,951 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 $51,239 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.