Special Education Teachers, Middle School in District of Columbia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,765
after federal, FICA and District of Columbia tax
Tax takes
$18,405
23.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,840
District of Columbia costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in District of Columbia — 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
$79,170
Kept after tax
$60,765
Worth in national money
$54,840
State rank
8
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- District of Columbia is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $79,170, which ranks 8 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 18.5% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 194 among 390 occupations District of Columbia publishes pay for.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $79,170 the take-home is $60,765. But District of Columbia costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $54,840 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $87,810, because the best-paid pull it up.
- District of Columbia ranks 8 of 51 states publishing a median for special education teachers, middle school, at $79,170 — about 18.5% 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 194 of 390 in District of Columbia places special education teachers, middle 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 after federal, FICA and District of Columbia income tax is $60,765 for special education teachers, middle school, from $79,170. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $54,840. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $87,810 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, Middle School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $66,840 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $127,280 |
| This salary | $79,170 |
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 District of Columbia | $60,765 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,526 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$11,562 |
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 | $73,824 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$15,560 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 111 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in District of Columbia earn less than $79,170. The published range is $66,840 up to $127,280, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In District of Columbia the take-home figure of $60,765, from $79,170, 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 194 of 390 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,840 uses one figure for the whole of District of Columbia. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 390 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 194.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, middle school in District of Columbia the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $66,840 to $127,280. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for District of Columbia is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $60,765 from $79,170. 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 194 of 390 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,840, worked from $79,170, 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 District of Columbia address, on work sitting at 194 of 390 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 $87,810, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $66,840 and the top tenth $127,280 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in District of Columbia run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $54,840 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 District of Columbia adds its own income tax on top — which is why $60,765 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.
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 District of Columbia is $87,810. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($66,840) and the ninetieth ($127,280) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
District of Columbia's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $54,840 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $60,765 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and District of Columbia 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.