Special Education Teachers, Preschool in Tennessee
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,028
after federal, FICA and Tennessee tax
Tax takes
$9,522
16.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,076
Tennessee costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Tennessee — 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
$59,550
Kept after tax
$50,028
Worth in national money
$54,076
State rank
32
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Tennessee is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $59,550, ranking 32 of 45 states — about 8.14% 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 Tennessee reports figures for, this is number 209.
- Here is where Tennessee does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $59,550 you keep $50,028, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,076 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $59,100, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Tennessee ranks 32 of 45 for special education teachers, preschool, with a median of $59,550 — about 8.14% 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 Tennessee's occupational distribution, special education teachers, preschool sits at 209 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 Tennessee income tax, retained pay for special education teachers, preschool on $59,550 is $50,028. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,076 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 $59,100 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Preschool
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $44,210 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $77,900 |
| This salary | $59,550 |
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 Tennessee | $50,028 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $50,028 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,593 |
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 | $59,550 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$3,136 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Tennessee earn less than $59,550. The published range is $44,210 up to $77,900, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $50,028 take-home in Tennessee comes from $59,550. 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 209 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,076 uses one figure for the whole of Tennessee. 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 209.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, preschool in Tennessee the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $44,210 to $77,900. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $50,028, from $59,550, assumes a single Tennessee 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 209 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 32 of 45 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,076, worked from $59,550, 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 Tennessee address, on work sitting at 209 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $44,210 at the bottom tenth to $77,900 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 $54,076.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
No. $50,028 survives, because Tennessee levies no wage income tax. The federal share does not change with the state you work in.
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 ($44,210 to $77,900) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Tennessee rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Tennessee'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 $54,076 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Tennessee levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $50,028 reflects the federal layer and FICA alone. Federal income tax and FICA are unchanged; states without a wage income tax generally recover revenue through consumption and property bases instead.
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.