Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in Florida
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$51,603
after federal, FICA and Florida tax
Tax takes
$9,907
16.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$49,881
Florida costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Florida — 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
$61,510
Kept after tax
$51,603
Worth in national money
$49,881
State rank
35
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Florida is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $61,510, ranking 35 of 51 states — about 17.17% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 493 occupations Florida reports figures for, this is number 187.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $61,510 the take-home is $51,603. But Florida costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $49,881 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $65,290, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Florida ranks 35 of 51 for special education teachers, secondary school, with a median of $61,510 — about 17.17% 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 Florida's occupational distribution, special education teachers, secondary school sits at 187 of 493 — 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.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Florida income tax is $51,603 for special education teachers, secondary school, from $61,510. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $49,881. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $65,290 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 | $51,360 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $79,170 |
| This salary | $61,510 |
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 Florida | $51,603 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,603 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,222 |
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 | $61,510 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,897 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 103 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Florida earn less than $61,510. The published range is $51,360 up to $79,170, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Florida's $51,603, worked from $61,510. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 187 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $49,881 uses one figure for the whole of Florida. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 493 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 187.
- Reported values are medians; for special education teachers, secondary school in Florida the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $51,360 to $79,170. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Florida take-home of $51,603, on $61,510 for work ranking 187 of 493 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 187 of 493 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $49,881, worked from $61,510, 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 Florida address, on work sitting at 187 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $65,290 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $51,360 and the top tenth $79,170, so most people doing this work in Florida sit within a fairly tight band.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
Not on its own. Prices in Florida run above the national level, so the same dollars buy less here. Adjusted for that, this pay is worth $49,881 — the wage did not change, only what it covers.
Is most of this wage taxed away?
Less than people assume. $51,603 of this wage reaches your account, because Florida takes no income tax from wages — but federal tax, Social Security and Medicare still apply exactly as they do everywhere else.
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 Florida is $65,290. 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 ($51,360 to $79,170) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Florida rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Florida's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $49,881 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
Why is the take-home ratio comparatively high in this state?
Florida levies no personal income tax on wages, so take-home of $51,603 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.
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.