Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Kansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,308
after federal, FICA and Kansas tax
Tax takes
$12,662
21.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,585
Kansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kansas — 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
$59,970
Kept after tax
$47,308
Worth in national money
$52,585
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kansas is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $59,970, ranking 38 of 51 states — about 7.91% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 210 among 488 occupations Kansas publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $59,970 you keep $47,308 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $52,585 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $60,550, since top earners drag the number up.
- Kansas ranks 38 of 51 for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school, with a median of $59,970 — about 7.91% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 210 of 488 in Kansas 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.
- Retained pay in Kansas is $47,308 after the full tax stack, from $59,970. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $52,585 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $60,550 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 | $48,830 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,970 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,940 |
| This salary | $59,970 |
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 Kansas | $47,308 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,366 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$755 |
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 | $56,164 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$913 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kansas earn less than $59,970. The published range is $48,830 up to $75,940, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $47,308 take-home in Kansas comes from $59,970. 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 210 of 488.
- Two cautions on $52,585, the adjusted value of that $59,970 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Kansas. 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 210 of 488 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Kansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $48,830 to $75,940. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $47,308, from $59,970, assumes a single Kansas 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 210 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 38 of 51 for it.
- This $52,585 adjusted figure, worked from $59,970, 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 210 of 488 in the state. The occupation ranks 210 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $48,830 at the bottom tenth to $75,940 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $52,585.
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; Kansas then takes its own share, leaving $47,308.
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 ($48,830 to $75,940) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kansas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kansas'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 $52,585 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 $47,308 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kansas 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.