Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in Michigan
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$60,672
after federal, FICA and Michigan tax
Tax takes
$17,378
22.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$64,418
Michigan costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Michigan — 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
$78,050
Kept after tax
$60,672
Worth in national money
$64,418
State rank
14
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Michigan pays this job a middle wage of $78,050, ranking 14 of 51 states and sitting about 5.1% above the national middle.
- Against other work in Michigan, this sits in the middle: 132 of 493 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $78,050 you keep $60,672 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $64,418 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $77,810.
- Michigan's median for special education teachers, secondary school is $78,050, about 5.1% above the national figure and 14 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Special education teachers, secondary school ranks 132 of 493 occupations in Michigan by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- Retained pay in Michigan is $60,672 after the full tax stack, from $78,050. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $64,418 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $77,810 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $78,050 |
| Top tenth earn over | $103,210 |
| This salary | $78,050 |
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 Michigan | $60,672 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $63,738 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,173 |
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 | $73,691 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,620 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 94 |
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 Michigan earn under $78,050 and half over. The published range runs $49,710 at the tenth percentile to $103,210 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $60,672 take-home in Michigan comes from $78,050. 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 132 of 493.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $64,418 uses one figure for the whole of Michigan. 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 132.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, secondary school in Michigan, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $49,710 to $103,210; 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 $60,672, from $78,050, assumes a single Michigan 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 132 of 493 locally, and the state ranks 14 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $64,418, worked from $78,050, 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 Michigan address, on work sitting at 132 of 493 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $49,710 at the bottom tenth to $103,210 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $64,418.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Michigan adds its own income tax on top — which is why $60,672 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($49,710 to $103,210) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Michigan rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Michigan'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 $64,418 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 $60,672 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Michigan 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.