Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in Illinois
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$61,223
after federal, FICA and Illinois tax
Tax takes
$18,667
23.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$61,932
Illinois costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Illinois — 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
$79,890
Kept after tax
$61,223
Worth in national money
$61,932
State rank
11
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Illinois is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $79,890, which ranks 11 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 7.58% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 494 occupations Illinois reports figures for, this is number 141.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $79,890 the take-home is $61,223, which is worth about $61,932 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $86,150, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Illinois ranks 11 of 51 states publishing a median for special education teachers, secondary school, at $79,890 — about 7.58% 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.
- In Illinois's occupational distribution, special education teachers, secondary school sits at 141 of 494 — 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.
- Illinois's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for special education teachers, secondary school on its $79,890 median: $61,223 retained after tax becomes $61,932 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $86,150 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 | $49,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $79,890 |
| Top tenth earn over | $129,260 |
| This salary | $79,890 |
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 Illinois | $61,223 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $65,033 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,991 |
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 | $74,475 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,894 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $79,890 as a midpoint for Illinois, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $49,920 and the ninetieth is $129,260 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Illinois the take-home figure of $61,223, from $79,890, 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 141 of 494 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $61,932 uses one figure for the whole of Illinois. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 494 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 141.
- The Illinois median of $79,890 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $49,920 to $129,260. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Illinois is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $61,223 from $79,890. 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 141 of 494 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $61,932, worked from $79,890, 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 Illinois address, on work sitting at 141 of 494 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 $86,150 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $49,920 at the bottom tenth to $129,260 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Illinois sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $61,932 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 Illinois's own levy, $61,223 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.
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 Illinois is $86,150. 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 ($49,920) and the ninetieth ($129,260) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Illinois'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 $61,932 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 $61,223 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Illinois 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.