Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in Minnesota
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$59,033
after federal, FICA and Minnesota tax
Tax takes
$17,567
22.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$59,982
Minnesota costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Minnesota — 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
$76,600
Kept after tax
$59,033
Worth in national money
$59,982
State rank
18
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Minnesota is 18 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $76,600. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Minnesota, this sits in the middle: 186 of 490 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $76,600 the take-home is $59,033, which is worth about $59,982 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $76,720, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Minnesota ranks 18 of 51 for special education teachers, secondary school at $76,600. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Special education teachers, secondary school ranks 186 of 490 occupations in Minnesota 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.
- Minnesota's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for special education teachers, secondary school on its $76,600 median: $59,033 retained after tax becomes $59,982 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $76,720 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Special Education Teachers, Secondary School
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $49,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $76,600 |
| Top tenth earn over | $102,390 |
| This salary | $76,600 |
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 Minnesota | $59,033 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $62,718 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$4,559 |
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 | $71,361 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$6,298 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 98 |
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 Minnesota earn under $76,600 and half over. The published range runs $49,410 at the tenth percentile to $102,390 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Minnesota the take-home figure of $59,033, from $76,600, 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 186 of 490 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $59,982 uses one figure for the whole of Minnesota. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 490 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 186.
- Figures are distribution medians for special education teachers, secondary school in Minnesota, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $49,410 to $102,390; 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.
- Take-home for Minnesota is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $59,033 from $76,600. 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 186 of 490 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $59,982, worked from $76,600, 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 Minnesota address, on work sitting at 186 of 490 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $49,410 and the top tenth $102,390, so most people doing this work in Minnesota sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $59,982.
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 Minnesota's own levy, $59,033 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 ($49,410 to $102,390) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Minnesota rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Minnesota'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 $59,982 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 $59,033 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Minnesota 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.