Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,202
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$9,828
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$45,697
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$56,030
Kept after tax
$46,202
Worth in national money
$45,697
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Arizona. The middle earner gets $56,030. That is 46 of 51 states, and about 13.96% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Arizona reports figures for, this is number 265.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $56,030, tax leaves $46,202, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $45,697 in comparable terms. Averages run higher here, $57,470, since top earners drag the number up.
- For special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school, Arizona sits in the lower band at $56,030, ranking 46 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 13.96%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Arizona's occupational distribution, special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school sits at 265 of 491 — 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.
- Because Arizona sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school — median $56,030 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $46,202 retained, $45,697 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $57,470 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,400 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $56,030 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,420 |
| This salary | $56,030 |
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 Arizona | $46,202 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,200 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,875 |
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 | $54,788 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,477 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $56,030 as a midpoint for Arizona, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $46,400 and the ninetieth is $75,420 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $46,202 take-home in Arizona comes from $56,030. 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 265 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arizona, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $45,697, the adjusted value of that $56,030 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 265 of 491 in the state.
- The Arizona median of $56,030 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $46,400 to $75,420. 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 $46,202, from $56,030, assumes a single Arizona 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 265 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arizona, so $45,697 — the adjusted value of that $56,030 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 265 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $46,400 at the bottom tenth to $75,420 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $45,697 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $46,202.
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 ($46,400 to $75,420) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $45,697 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 $46,202 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.