Special Education Teachers, Middle School in Indiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,798
after federal, FICA and Indiana tax
Tax takes
$11,102
18.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,851
Indiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Indiana — 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
$58,900
Kept after tax
$47,798
Worth in national money
$51,851
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Indiana. The middle earner gets $58,900. That is 44 of 51 states, and about 11.84% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 231 among 493 occupations Indiana publishes pay for.
- Here is where Indiana does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $58,900 you keep $47,798, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $51,851 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $60,670, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For special education teachers, middle school, Indiana sits in the lower band at $58,900, ranking 44 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 11.84%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Position 231 of 493 in Indiana 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.
- After federal, FICA and Indiana income tax, retained pay for special education teachers, middle school on $58,900 is $47,798. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $51,851 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $60,670 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 | $46,500 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $58,900 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,160 |
| This salary | $58,900 |
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 Indiana | $47,798 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,506 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$905 |
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 | $56,774 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,095 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
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 Indiana earn under $58,900 and half over. The published range runs $46,500 at the tenth percentile to $78,160 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Indiana the take-home figure of $47,798, from $58,900, 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 231 of 493 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Indiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $51,851, the adjusted value of that $58,900 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 231 of 493 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, middle school in Indiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $46,500 to $78,160; 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 Indiana is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $47,798 from $58,900. 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 231 of 493 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Indiana, so $51,851 — the adjusted value of that $58,900 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 231 of 493 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 $60,670 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $46,500 at the bottom tenth to $78,160 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 Indiana sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $51,851 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Indiana's own levy, $47,798 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 Indiana is $60,670. 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 ($46,500 to $78,160) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Indiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Indiana'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 $51,851 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 $47,798 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Indiana 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.