Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$52,640
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$11,660
18.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,065
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — 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
$64,300
Kept after tax
$52,640
Worth in national money
$52,065
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Arizona is 26 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $64,300. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 185 among 491 occupations Arizona publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Arizona costs about what the country costs, so from $64,300, take-home of $52,640 is worth roughly $52,065 in national money. The average comes to $71,690, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Arizona ranks 26 of 51 for special education teachers, secondary school at $64,300. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 185 of 491 in Arizona places special education teachers, secondary school in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Price parity in Arizona is near the national base, so for special education teachers, secondary school, whose median is $64,300, the adjusted figure of $52,065 differs little from $52,640 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $71,690 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,240 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $64,300 |
| Top tenth earn over | $110,560 |
| This salary | $64,300 |
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 Arizona | $52,640 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,845 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,346 |
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 | $62,800 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,046 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
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, secondary school in Arizona earn under $64,300 and half over. The published range runs $49,240 at the tenth percentile to $110,560 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $52,640 take-home in Arizona comes from $64,300. 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 185 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arizona, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $52,065, the adjusted value of that $64,300 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 185 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, secondary school in Arizona, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $49,240 to $110,560; 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.
- Retained pay of $52,640, from $64,300, assumes a single Arizona 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 185 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 26 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arizona, so $52,065 — the adjusted value of that $64,300 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 185 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 $71,690, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $49,240 and the top tenth $110,560 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Arizona run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $52,065 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Arizona then takes its own share, leaving $52,640.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 Arizona is $71,690. 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 ($49,240) and the ninetieth ($110,560) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $52,065 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 $52,640 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona 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.