Special Education Teachers, Middle School in Hawaii
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,546
after federal, FICA and Hawaii tax
Tax takes
$13,204
21.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$44,698
Hawaii costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Hawaii — 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
$61,750
Kept after tax
$48,546
Worth in national money
$44,698
State rank
36
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Hawaii is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $61,750, ranking 36 of 51 states — about 7.57% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 227 among 437 occupations Hawaii publishes pay for.
- Hawaii is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $61,750 the take-home is $48,546; in national-average money that behaves like $44,698. The average comes to $68,420, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Hawaii ranks 36 of 51 for special education teachers, middle school, with a median of $61,750 — about 7.57% 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 227 of 437 in Hawaii 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.
- Take-home for special education teachers, middle school in Hawaii, on $61,750, is $48,546; deflated by the state's price level, $44,698. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $68,420 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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 | $59,120 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,750 |
| Top tenth earn over | $80,570 |
| This salary | $61,750 |
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 Hawaii | $48,546 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,796 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,604 |
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 | $57,705 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$10,405 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 109 |
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, middle school in Hawaii earn under $61,750 and half over. The published range runs $59,120 at the tenth percentile to $80,570 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Hawaii the take-home figure of $48,546, from $61,750, 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 227 of 437 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $44,698 uses one figure for the whole of Hawaii. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 437 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 227.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, middle school in Hawaii, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $59,120 to $80,570; 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.
- Take-home for Hawaii is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,546 from $61,750. 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 227 of 437 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $44,698, worked from $61,750, 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 Hawaii address, on work sitting at 227 of 437 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $68,420 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $59,120 at the tenth percentile, $80,570 at the ninetieth.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $44,698 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Hawaii then takes its own share, leaving $48,546.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Hawaii is $68,420. 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 ($59,120 to $80,570) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Hawaii rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Hawaii's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $44,698 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 $48,546 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Hawaii 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.