Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in Arkansas
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$46,329
after federal, FICA and Arkansas tax
Tax takes
$10,671
18.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$53,555
Arkansas costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arkansas — 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
$57,000
Kept after tax
$46,329
Worth in national money
$53,555
State rank
46
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Arkansas pays this job a middle wage of $57,000, 46 of 51 states and about 23.24% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 489 occupations Arkansas reports figures for, this is number 171.
- Here is where Arkansas does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $57,000 you keep $46,329, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $53,555 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $57,110, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arkansas's $57,000 median for special education teachers, secondary school places it 46 of 51 states, about 23.24% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- In Arkansas's occupational distribution, special education teachers, secondary school sits at 171 of 489 — 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 Arkansas income tax, retained pay for special education teachers, secondary school on $57,000 is $46,329. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $53,555 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 $57,110 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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 | $47,820 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $57,000 |
| Top tenth earn over | $66,500 |
| This salary | $57,000 |
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 Arkansas | $46,329 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $47,980 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$4,180 |
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 | $54,946 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$5,056 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 87 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Arkansas earn less than $57,000. The published range is $47,820 up to $66,500, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $46,329 take-home in Arkansas comes from $57,000. 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 171 of 489.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $53,555 uses one figure for the whole of Arkansas. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 489 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 171.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, secondary school in Arkansas the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $47,820 to $66,500. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $46,329, from $57,000, assumes a single Arkansas 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 171 of 489 locally, and the state ranks 46 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $53,555, worked from $57,000, 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 Arkansas address, on work sitting at 171 of 489 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $47,820 at the bottom tenth to $66,500 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 $53,555.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Arkansas adds its own income tax on top — which is why $46,329 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($47,820 to $66,500) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arkansas rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Arkansas'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 $53,555 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 $46,329 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arkansas 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.