Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,391
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$16,209
21.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,997
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$74,600
Kept after tax
$58,391
Worth in national money
$61,997
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Michigan is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $74,600, which ranks 14 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 14.56% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 151 among 493 occupations Michigan publishes pay for.
- Here is where Michigan does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $74,600 you keep $58,391, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $61,997 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $75,380, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Michigan ranks 14 of 51 states publishing a median for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school, at $74,600 — about 14.56% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 151 of 493 in Michigan 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 Michigan income tax, retained pay for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school on $74,600 is $58,391. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $61,997 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 $75,380 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 | $48,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,600 |
| Top tenth earn over | $100,370 |
| This salary | $74,600 |
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 Michigan | $58,391 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $61,311 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,096 |
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 | $70,450 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,514 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 Michigan earn under $74,600 and half over. The published range runs $48,720 at the tenth percentile to $100,370 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $58,391 take-home in Michigan comes from $74,600. 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 151 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $61,997 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 151.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,720 to $100,370; 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 $58,391, from $74,600, assumes a single Michigan 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 151 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 14 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $61,997, worked from $74,600, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 151 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $48,720 at the bottom tenth to $100,370 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. Michigan is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $61,997 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $58,391 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,720 to $100,370) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $61,997 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 $58,391 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.