Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Nebraska
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,198
after federal, FICA and Nebraska tax
Tax takes
$12,222
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$55,543
Nebraska costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Nebraska — 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
$62,420
Kept after tax
$50,198
Worth in national money
$55,543
State rank
28
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Nebraska is 28 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $62,420. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 488 occupations Nebraska reports figures for, this is number 196.
- Nebraska is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $62,420 the take-home is $50,198; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $55,543 would nationally. The average comes to $65,160, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Nebraska ranks 28 of 51 for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school at $62,420. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Nebraska's occupational distribution, special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school sits at 196 of 488 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- Post-tax income for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Nebraska, on $62,420, is $50,198 — equivalent to $55,543 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $65,160 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $47,430 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $62,420 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,470 |
| This salary | $62,420 |
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 Nebraska | $50,198 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $52,334 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,688 |
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 | $59,761 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,041 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
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 Nebraska earn under $62,420 and half over. The published range runs $47,430 at the tenth percentile to $79,470 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $50,198 take-home in Nebraska comes from $62,420. 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 196 of 488.
- Two cautions on $55,543, the adjusted value of that $62,420 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Nebraska. 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 196 of 488 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Nebraska, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $47,430 to $79,470; 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 $50,198, from $62,420, assumes a single Nebraska 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 196 of 488 locally, and the state ranks 28 of 51 for it.
- This $55,543 adjusted figure, worked from $62,420, 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 196 of 488 in the state. The occupation ranks 196 of 488 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $65,160, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $47,430 and the top tenth $79,470, so most people doing this work in Nebraska sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $55,543.
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 Nebraska's own levy, $50,198 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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Nebraska is $65,160. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,430 to $79,470) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Nebraska rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Nebraska'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 $55,543 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 $50,198 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Nebraska 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.