Special Education Teachers, Middle School in Massachusetts
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$64,403
after federal, FICA and Massachusetts tax
Tax takes
$20,147
23.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,502
Massachusetts costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Massachusetts — 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
$84,550
Kept after tax
$64,403
Worth in national money
$59,502
State rank
6
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Massachusetts is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $84,550, which ranks 6 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 26.55% above the national middle.
- Against other work in Massachusetts, this sits in the middle: 159 of 485 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $84,550 the take-home is $64,403. But Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $59,502 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $87,040, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Massachusetts ranks 6 of 51 states publishing a median for special education teachers, middle school, at $84,550 — about 26.55% 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.
- Special education teachers, middle school ranks 159 of 485 occupations in Massachusetts by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Massachusetts income tax is $64,403 for special education teachers, middle school, from $84,550. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $59,502. ⚠️ 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 $87,040 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Middle School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $60,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $84,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $108,440 |
| This salary | $84,550 |
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 Massachusetts | $64,403 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $68,311 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$10,795 |
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 | $78,996 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$14,911 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 108 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Massachusetts earn less than $84,550. The published range is $60,080 up to $108,440, 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 Massachusetts's $64,403, worked from $84,550. 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 159 of 485.
- One number stands for prices across all of Massachusetts, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $59,502, the adjusted value of that $84,550 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 159 of 485 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, middle school in Massachusetts the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $60,080 to $108,440. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Massachusetts take-home of $64,403, on $84,550 for work ranking 159 of 485 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 159 of 485 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Massachusetts, so $59,502 — the adjusted value of that $84,550 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 159 of 485 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $60,080 and the top tenth $108,440, so most people doing this work in Massachusetts sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Massachusetts costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $59,502 rather than its face figure.
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 Massachusetts's own levy, $64,403 remains.
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 ($60,080 to $108,440) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Massachusetts rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Massachusetts's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $59,502 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 $64,403 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Massachusetts 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.