Substitute Teachers, Short-Term in Connecticut
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,872
after federal, FICA and Connecticut tax
Tax takes
$6,588
17.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$30,738
Connecticut costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Connecticut — 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
$38,460
Kept after tax
$31,872
Worth in national money
$30,738
State rank
22
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Connecticut sits in the middle of the pack for substitute teachers, short-term. The median is $38,460, ranking 22 of 50 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Connecticut, this one sits low: 435 of 482 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- The wage here flatters the reality. From $38,460 the take-home is $31,872. But Connecticut costs more than the national average, so that money behaves more like $30,738 would elsewhere. Worth knowing before comparing offers across states. The average is higher, $45,200, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Connecticut occupies the middle band for substitute teachers, short-term: a median of $38,460, ranking 22 of 50. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Substitute teachers, short-term occupies position 435 of 482 in Connecticut's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- Retained pay after federal, FICA and Connecticut income tax is $31,872 for substitute teachers, short-term, from $38,460. The state's price level exceeds the national average, so the price-adjusted equivalent is $30,738. ⚠️ This is purchasing power and not a wage; cross-state offer comparisons that stop at the nominal figure systematically overvalue high-cost states. The mean of $45,200 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Substitute Teachers, Short-Term
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,050 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $38,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $63,980 |
| This salary | $38,460 |
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 Connecticut | $31,872 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,083 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$3,306 |
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 | $36,953 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,999 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 104 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $38,460 as a midpoint for Connecticut, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $35,050 and the ninetieth is $63,980 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Connecticut's $31,872, worked from $38,460. 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 435 of 482.
- One number stands for prices across all of Connecticut, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $30,738, the adjusted value of that $38,460 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 435 of 482 in the state.
- The Connecticut median of $38,460 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $35,050 to $63,980. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Connecticut take-home of $31,872, on $38,460 for work ranking 435 of 482 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 435 of 482 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Connecticut, so $30,738 — the adjusted value of that $38,460 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 435 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $45,200, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $35,050 at the bottom tenth to $63,980 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
A larger wage in a dearer place is not automatically more. Adjusted for local prices, this pay behaves like $30,738 of national purchasing power.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Connecticut then takes its own share, leaving $31,872.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 Connecticut is $45,200. 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 ($35,050) and the ninetieth ($63,980) 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.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Connecticut's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $30,738 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $31,872 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Connecticut 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.