Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,690
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$11,070
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,733
Indiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Indiana — 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
$58,760
Kept after tax
$47,690
Worth in national money
$51,733
State rank
41
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Indiana. The middle earner gets $58,760. That is 41 of 51 states, and about 9.77% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 234 among 493 occupations Indiana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,760 you keep $47,690, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $51,733 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $59,860, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school, Indiana sits in the lower band at $58,760, ranking 41 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 9.77%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 234 of 493 in Indiana places special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school 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 Indiana income tax, retained pay for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school on $58,760 is $47,690. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $51,733 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 $59,860 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $46,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,760 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,490 |
| This salary | $58,760 |
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 Indiana | $47,690 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,394 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$904 |
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 | $56,639 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,093 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 Indiana earn under $58,760 and half over. The published range runs $46,730 at the tenth percentile to $78,490 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $47,690 take-home in Indiana comes from $58,760. 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 234 of 493.
- Two cautions on $51,733, the adjusted value of that $58,760 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Indiana. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 234 of 493 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Indiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $46,730 to $78,490; 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.
- Retained pay of $47,690, from $58,760, assumes a single Indiana 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 234 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 41 of 51 for it.
- This $51,733 adjusted figure, worked from $58,760, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 234 of 493 in the state. The occupation ranks 234 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $46,730 at the bottom tenth to $78,490 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Indiana is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $51,733 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; Indiana then takes its own share, leaving $47,690.
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 ($46,730 to $78,490) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Indiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Indiana'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 $51,733 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 $47,690 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Indiana 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.