Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in North Carolina
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,176
after federal, FICA and North Carolina tax
Tax takes
$11,084
19.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$50,113
North Carolina costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in North Carolina — 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
$58,260
Kept after tax
$47,176
Worth in national money
$50,113
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- North Carolina is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $58,260, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 10.53% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 224 among 489 occupations North Carolina publishes pay for.
- North Carolina is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $58,260 the take-home is $47,176; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $50,113 would nationally. The average lands at $57,160, below the middle of the range.
- North Carolina ranks 42 of 51 for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school, with a median of $58,260 — about 10.53% 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 224 of 489 in North Carolina 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.
- Post-tax income for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in North Carolina, on $58,260, is $47,176 — equivalent to $50,113 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 $57,160 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,720 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,260 |
| Top tenth earn over | $73,990 |
| This salary | $58,260 |
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 North Carolina | $47,176 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $48,992 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$303 |
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 | $56,000 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$366 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in North Carolina earn less than $58,260. The published range is $44,720 up to $73,990, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In North Carolina the take-home figure of $47,176, from $58,260, 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 224 of 489 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $50,113, the adjusted value of that $58,260 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of North Carolina. 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 224 of 489 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in North Carolina the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $44,720 to $73,990. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for North Carolina is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $47,176 from $58,260. 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 224 of 489 locally.
- This $50,113 adjusted figure, worked from $58,260, 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 224 of 489 in the state. The occupation ranks 224 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $44,720 at the bottom tenth to $73,990 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in North Carolina sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $50,113 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 North Carolina adds its own income tax on top — which is why $47,176 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 ($44,720 to $73,990) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to North Carolina rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
North Carolina'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 $50,113 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 $47,176 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and North Carolina 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.