Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,098
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$18,392
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$60,551
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$78,490
Kept after tax
$60,098
Worth in national money
$60,551
State rank
13
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Delaware is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $78,490, which ranks 13 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 5.7% above the national middle.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 137 among 445 occupations Delaware publishes pay for.
- No great distortion either way. Delaware costs about what the country costs, so from $78,490, take-home of $60,098 is worth roughly $60,551 in national money. The average lands at $74,760, below the middle of the range.
- Delaware ranks 13 of 51 states publishing a median for special education teachers, secondary school, at $78,490 — about 5.7% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Position 137 of 445 in Delaware 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 Delaware is near the national base, so for special education teachers, secondary school, whose median is $78,490, the adjusted figure of $60,551 differs little from $60,098 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $74,760 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $57,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,490 |
| Top tenth earn over | $94,830 |
| This salary | $78,490 |
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 Delaware | $60,098 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $64,048 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$5,359 |
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 | $72,876 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$7,402 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
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 Delaware earn under $78,490 and half over. The published range runs $57,020 at the tenth percentile to $94,830 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Delaware the take-home figure of $60,098, from $78,490, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 137 of 445 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Delaware, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $60,551, the adjusted value of that $78,490 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 137 of 445 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, secondary school in Delaware, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $57,020 to $94,830; 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.
- Take-home for Delaware is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $60,098 from $78,490. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 137 of 445 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Delaware, so $60,551 — the adjusted value of that $78,490 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 137 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $74,760, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $57,020 at the bottom tenth to $94,830 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Delaware sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $60,551 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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; Delaware then takes its own share, leaving $60,098.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Delaware is $74,760. 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 ($57,020 to $94,830) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware'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 $60,551 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 $60,098 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.