Special Education Teachers, Middle School in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,561
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$11,639
19.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,678
Kentucky costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Kentucky — 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
$60,200
Kept after tax
$48,561
Worth in national money
$53,678
State rank
38
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Kentucky pays this job a middle wage of $60,200, 38 of 51 states and about 9.89% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 205.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $60,200 you keep $48,561, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $53,678 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $58,160, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kentucky's $60,200 median for special education teachers, middle school places it 38 of 51 states, about 9.89% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In Kentucky's occupational distribution, special education teachers, middle school sits at 205 of 491 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Kentucky income tax, retained pay for special education teachers, middle school on $60,200 is $48,561. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $53,678 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 $58,160 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Middle School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,070 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $60,200 |
| Top tenth earn over | $75,970 |
| This salary | $60,200 |
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 Kentucky | $48,561 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,551 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,658 |
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 | $57,724 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$2,005 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $60,200 as a midpoint for Kentucky, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $44,070 and the ninetieth is $75,970 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- That $48,561 take-home in Kentucky comes from $60,200. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 205 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $53,678 uses one figure for the whole of Kentucky. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 205.
- The Kentucky median of $60,200 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $44,070 to $75,970. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Retained pay of $48,561, from $60,200, assumes a single Kentucky filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 205 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 38 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $53,678, worked from $60,200, 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 Kentucky address, on work sitting at 205 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $58,160, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $44,070 at the tenth percentile, $75,970 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 $53,678.
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 Kentucky's own levy, $48,561 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 Kentucky is $58,160. 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 ($44,070 to $75,970) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Kentucky rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Kentucky'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 $53,678 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 $48,561 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Kentucky 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.