Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Pennsylvania
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$57,729
after federal, FICA and Pennsylvania tax
Tax takes
$14,951
20.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,209
Pennsylvania costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Pennsylvania — 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
$72,680
Kept after tax
$57,729
Worth in national money
$59,209
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Pennsylvania pays this job around $72,680 at the midpoint, 19 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 492 occupations Pennsylvania reports figures for, this is number 162.
- Cost of living is unremarkable here. From $72,680, tax leaves $57,729, and adjusting for local prices barely moves it — about $59,209 in comparable terms. Here the average runs under the middle, at $72,340.
- For special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school the Pennsylvania median is $72,680, ranking 19 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- In Pennsylvania's occupational distribution, special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school sits at 162 of 492 — 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.
- Because Pennsylvania sits close to the national price level, the real-terms figure for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school — median $72,680 — tracks the post-tax figure closely: $57,729 retained, $59,209 adjusted. ⚠️ Neither is a wage; the second describes what the first buys. Mean pay of $72,340 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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 | $51,730 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $72,680 |
| Top tenth earn over | $98,170 |
| This salary | $72,680 |
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 Pennsylvania | $57,729 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $59,960 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,494 |
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 | $69,508 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,445 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Pennsylvania earn less than $72,680. The published range is $51,730 up to $98,170, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Pennsylvania's $57,729, worked from $72,680. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 162 of 492.
- One number stands for prices across all of Pennsylvania, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $59,209, the adjusted value of that $72,680 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 162 of 492 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school in Pennsylvania the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,730 to $98,170. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Pennsylvania take-home of $57,729, on $72,680 for work ranking 162 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 162 of 492 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Pennsylvania, so $59,209 — the adjusted value of that $72,680 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 162 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $51,730 at the tenth percentile, $98,170 at the ninetieth.
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 $59,209.
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 Pennsylvania adds its own income tax on top — which is why $57,729 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 ($51,730 to $98,170) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Pennsylvania rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Pennsylvania'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 $59,209 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 $57,729 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Pennsylvania 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.