Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,454
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$11,606
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,559
Kentucky costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kentucky — 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
$60,060
Kept after tax
$48,454
Worth in national money
$53,559
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Kentucky. The middle earner gets $60,060. That is 37 of 51 states, and about 7.77% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 210 among 491 occupations Kentucky publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $60,060 you keep $48,454 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $53,559 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $58,580.
- For special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school, Kentucky sits in the lower band at $60,060, ranking 37 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 7.77%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 210 of 491 in Kentucky 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 Kentucky is $48,454 after the full tax stack, from $60,060. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $53,559 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $58,580 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,060 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,560 |
| This salary | $60,060 |
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 Kentucky | $48,454 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,438 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,654 |
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 | $57,590 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,001 |
| 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 Kentucky earn less than $60,060. The published range is $46,070 up to $75,560, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Kentucky the take-home figure of $48,454, from $60,060, 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 210 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Kentucky, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $53,559, the adjusted value of that $60,060 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 210 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $46,070 to $75,560. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Kentucky is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,454 from $60,060. 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 210 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Kentucky, so $53,559 — the adjusted value of that $60,060 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 210 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $46,070 at the tenth percentile, $75,560 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Kentucky sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $53,559 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Kentucky then takes its own share, leaving $48,454.
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 ($46,070 to $75,560) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kentucky rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kentucky'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 $53,559 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 $48,454 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kentucky 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.