Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,961
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$17,999
23.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,655
Illinois costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Illinois — 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
$77,960
Kept after tax
$59,961
Worth in national money
$60,655
State rank
10
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Illinois pays this job a middle wage of $77,960, ranking 10 of 51 states and sitting about 19.72% above the national middle.
- Against other work in Illinois, this sits in the middle: 159 of 494 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- No great distortion either way. Illinois costs about what the country costs, so from $77,960, take-home of $59,961 is worth roughly $60,655 in national money. The average lands at $77,170, below the middle of the range.
- Illinois's median for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school is $77,960, about 19.72% above the national figure and 10 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school ranks 159 of 494 occupations in Illinois by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Price parity in Illinois is near the national base, so for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school, whose median is $77,960, the adjusted figure of $60,655 differs little from $59,961 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $77,170 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,790 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $77,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $104,490 |
| This salary | $77,960 |
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 Illinois | $59,961 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,675 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,871 |
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 | $72,680 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,728 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Illinois earn less than $77,960. The published range is $49,790 up to $104,490, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $59,961, from $77,960, 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 159 of 494 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $60,655 uses one figure for the whole of Illinois. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 494 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 159.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Illinois the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $49,790 to $104,490. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Illinois is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,961 from $77,960. 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 159 of 494 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $60,655, worked from $77,960, 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 Illinois address, on work sitting at 159 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $49,790 at the tenth percentile, $104,490 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $60,655.
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 Illinois's own levy, $59,961 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 ($49,790 to $104,490) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Illinois rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Illinois'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 $60,655 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 $59,961 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Illinois 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.