Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in Louisiana
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,280
after federal, FICA and Louisiana tax
Tax takes
$10,820
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,649
Louisiana costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Louisiana — 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
$59,100
Kept after tax
$48,280
Worth in national money
$54,649
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for this job is on the low side in Louisiana. The middle earner gets $59,100. That is 45 of 51 states, and about 20.41% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 484 occupations Louisiana reports figures for, this is number 198.
- Louisiana is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $59,100 the take-home is $48,280; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $54,649 would nationally. The average lands at $57,720, below the middle of the range.
- For special education teachers, secondary school, Louisiana sits in the lower band at $59,100, ranking 45 of 51 and trailing the national median by about 20.41%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- In Louisiana's occupational distribution, special education teachers, secondary school sits at 198 of 484 — 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.
- Post-tax income for special education teachers, secondary school in Louisiana, on $59,100, is $48,280 — equivalent to $54,649 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $57,720 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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 | $48,620 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,100 |
| Top tenth earn over | $64,460 |
| This salary | $59,100 |
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 Louisiana | $48,280 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,667 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$3,539 |
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 | $57,374 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,280 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 88 |
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 Louisiana earn under $59,100 and half over. The published range runs $48,620 at the tenth percentile to $64,460 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $48,280 take-home in Louisiana comes from $59,100. 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 198 of 484.
- One number stands for prices across all of Louisiana, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $54,649, the adjusted value of that $59,100 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 198 of 484 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, secondary school in Louisiana, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $48,620 to $64,460; 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.
- Retained pay of $48,280, from $59,100, assumes a single Louisiana 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 198 of 484 locally, and the state ranks 45 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Louisiana, so $54,649 — the adjusted value of that $59,100 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 198 of 484 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $48,620 at the tenth percentile, $64,460 at the ninetieth.
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 $54,649.
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 Louisiana's own levy, $48,280 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 ($48,620 to $64,460) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Louisiana rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Louisiana'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 $54,649 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 $48,280 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Louisiana 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.