Special Education Teachers, Preschool in Kentucky
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$43,966
after federal, FICA and Kentucky tax
Tax takes
$10,254
18.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$48,598
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
$54,220
Kept after tax
$43,966
Worth in national money
$48,598
State rank
39
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Kentucky is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $54,220, ranking 39 of 45 states — about 16.37% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Kentucky reports figures for, this is number 251.
- Here is where Kentucky does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $54,220 you keep $43,966, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $48,598 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $51,050, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Kentucky ranks 39 of 45 for special education teachers, preschool, with a median of $54,220 — about 16.37% 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 Kentucky's occupational distribution, special education teachers, preschool sits at 251 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, preschool on $54,220 is $43,966. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $48,598 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 $51,050 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in 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, Preschool
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,690 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $54,220 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,000 |
| This salary | $54,220 |
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 | $43,966 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $45,746 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,522 |
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 | $52,005 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,841 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Kentucky earn less than $54,220. The published range is $35,690 up to $64,000, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $43,966 take-home in Kentucky comes from $54,220. 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 251 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $48,598 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 251.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, preschool in Kentucky the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $35,690 to $64,000. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $43,966, from $54,220, 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 251 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 39 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $48,598, worked from $54,220, 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 251 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $51,050, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $35,690 at the bottom tenth to $64,000 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $48,598.
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, $43,966 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 Kentucky is $51,050. 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 ($35,690 to $64,000) 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 $48,598 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 $43,966 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.
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.