Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in Georgia
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$57,893
after federal, FICA and Georgia tax
Tax takes
$16,257
21.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,870
Georgia costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Georgia — 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
$74,150
Kept after tax
$57,893
Worth in national money
$59,870
State rank
20
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Georgia is 20 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $74,150. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 143 among 492 occupations Georgia publishes pay for.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $74,150 you keep $57,893 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $59,870 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $73,780.
- Georgia ranks 20 of 51 for special education teachers, secondary school at $74,150. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Position 143 of 492 in Georgia 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.
- Retained pay in Georgia is $57,893 after the full tax stack, from $74,150. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $59,870 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $73,780 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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 | $56,910 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,150 |
| Top tenth earn over | $97,720 |
| This salary | $74,150 |
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 Georgia | $57,893 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,995 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,898 |
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 | $69,742 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$4,003 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 97 |
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 Georgia earn under $74,150 and half over. The published range runs $56,910 at the tenth percentile to $97,720 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Georgia's $57,893, worked from $74,150. 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 143 of 492.
- Two cautions on $59,870, the adjusted value of that $74,150 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Georgia. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 143 of 492 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, secondary school in Georgia, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $56,910 to $97,720; 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.
- The Georgia take-home of $57,893, on $74,150 for work ranking 143 of 492 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 143 of 492 in the state.
- This $59,870 adjusted figure, worked from $74,150, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 143 of 492 in the state. The occupation ranks 143 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $56,910 at the tenth percentile, $97,720 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Georgia is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $59,870 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Georgia's own levy, $57,893 remains.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($56,910 to $97,720) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Georgia rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Georgia'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 $59,870 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 $57,893 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Georgia 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.