Special Education Teachers, Preschool in Connecticut
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$66,622
after federal, FICA and Connecticut tax
Tax takes
$21,338
24.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,252
Connecticut costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Connecticut — 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
$87,960
Kept after tax
$66,622
Worth in national money
$64,252
State rank
3
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Connecticut pays this job a middle wage of $87,960, ranking 3 of 45 states and sitting about 35.68% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 482 occupations Connecticut reports figures for, this is number 129.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $87,960 the take-home is $66,622. But Connecticut costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $64,252 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is lower, $86,680, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Connecticut's median for special education teachers, preschool is $87,960, about 35.68% above the national figure and 3 of 45 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- In Connecticut's occupational distribution, special education teachers, preschool sits at 129 of 482 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Connecticut income tax is $66,622 for special education teachers, preschool, from $87,960. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $64,252. ⚠️ 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 $86,680 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Preschool
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $58,140 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $87,960 |
| Top tenth earn over | $116,380 |
| This salary | $87,960 |
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 Connecticut | $66,622 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $70,710 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$8,514 |
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 | $82,149 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$11,760 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Connecticut earn less than $87,960. The published range is $58,140 up to $116,380, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $66,622 take-home in Connecticut comes from $87,960. 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 129 of 482.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $64,252 uses one figure for the whole of Connecticut. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 129.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, preschool in Connecticut the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $58,140 to $116,380. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $66,622, from $87,960, assumes a single Connecticut 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 129 of 482 locally, and the state ranks 3 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $64,252, worked from $87,960, 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 Connecticut address, on work sitting at 129 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $58,140 and the top tenth $116,380, so most people doing this work in Connecticut sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Connecticut run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $64,252 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
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 Connecticut's own levy, $66,622 remains.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($58,140 to $116,380) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Connecticut rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Connecticut's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $64,252 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 $66,622 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Connecticut 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.