Special Education Teachers, Preschool in Indiana

Books, colored pencils and a globe in a bright classroom.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$39,888

after federal, FICA and Indiana tax

Tax takes

$8,792

18.1% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$43,270

Indiana costs less than average

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

$48,680

Kept after tax

$39,888

Worth in national money

$43,270

State rank

44

of 45 states

What this pays, and what it is worth

  • Indiana is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $48,680, ranking 44 of 45 states — about 24.91% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
  • Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Indiana reports figures for, this is number 306.
  • Indiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $48,680 the take-home is $39,888; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $43,270 would nationally. The average comes to $54,120, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
  • Indiana ranks 44 of 45 for special education teachers, preschool, with a median of $48,680 — about 24.91% 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.
  • In Indiana's occupational distribution, special education teachers, preschool sits at 306 of 493 — 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.
  • Post-tax income for special education teachers, preschool in Indiana, on $48,680, is $39,888 — equivalent to $43,270 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $54,120 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.

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, Preschool

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$35,620
Half earn under$48,680
Top tenth earn over$76,530
This salary$48,680

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

Compare with
+$1,407take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Indiana$39,888
Take-home in Texas$41,294
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity−$775

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

Moving to
$0$49,617
$49,617in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$46,929
Raise you would need+$937
Prices in Texas97 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, preschool in Indiana earn under $48,680 and half over. The published range runs $35,620 at the tenth percentile to $76,530 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
  • One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Indiana's $39,888, worked from $48,680. 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 306 of 493.
  • One number stands for prices across all of Indiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $43,270, the adjusted value of that $48,680 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 306 of 493 in the state.
  • Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, preschool in Indiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,620 to $76,530; 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.
  • The Indiana take-home of $39,888, on $48,680 for work ranking 306 of 493 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 306 of 493 in the state.
  • Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Indiana, so $43,270 — the adjusted value of that $48,680 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 306 of 493 locally.

Questions people ask

Is this the average pay for the job?

It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $54,120, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.

Why is the pay range for this job so wide?

The label is broader than the work. From $35,620 at the bottom tenth to $76,530 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.

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 $43,270 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, $39,888 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.

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 $54,120. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?

Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($35,620) and the ninetieth ($76,530) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.

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 $43,270 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 $39,888 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.

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.