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Pay by state · 52 areas

Special Education Teacher, Secondary School Salary by State (2026)

Special Education Teachers, Secondary School earn the most in Washington at $101,120 a year and the least in Mississippi at $51,970 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The national median is $74,260. The table below covers all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico, with a cost-of-living adjusted column.

Highest median
$101,120Washington
National median
$74,260BLS OEWS, May 2025
Lowest median
$51,970Mississippi
Areas reporting
52of 54 OEWS areas

Top and bottom

Highest- and lowest-paying states for special education teachers, secondary school

Ranked on the state median among the 50 states and DC. Territories are in the full table but not ranked here.

Highest median pay

  1. 1Washington$101,120
  2. 2California$101,060
  3. 3District of Columbia$99,670
  4. 4Maryland$93,530
  5. 5Rhode Island$92,990

Lowest median pay

  1. 1Mississippi$51,970
  2. 2South Dakota$54,810
  3. 3West Virginia$55,390
  4. 4Missouri$55,920
  5. 5North Carolina$56,770

All states

Special Education Teacher, Secondary School salary in every state

Sort by any column. Employment is the number of special education teachers, secondary school OEWS estimates in that state; blank cells are estimates BLS suppressed because the sample was too small.

Annual wages by state, sortable by median, quartiles, employment and cost-of-living adjusted median
#
1WAWashington
$101,120
$80,620$112,7502,510$94,493
2CACalifornia
$101,060
$79,740$123,84012,100$91,275
3DCDistrict of Columbia
$99,670
$82,460$127,940440$90,691
4MDMaryland
$93,530
$72,120$104,0301,560$89,111
5RIRhode Island
$92,990
$68,930$96,930830$90,917
6NYNew York
$89,310
$75,470$130,55015,250$82,755
7MAMassachusetts
$83,890
$72,670$101,5205,470$79,323
8NJNew Jersey
$83,770
$76,190$101,7007,520$76,991
9CTConnecticut
$81,710
$64,670$101,7601,920$78,863
10AKAlaska
$80,580
$68,850$95,680590$78,723
11ILIllinois
$79,890
$62,780$104,9909,490$79,924
12VTVermont
$79,360
$62,190$83,650660$81,014
13DEDelaware
$78,490
$61,440$81,9601,160$78,641
14MIMichigan
$78,050
$61,830$94,7202,570$81,119
15OROregon
$77,400
$59,910$91,3801,240$74,883
16PAPennsylvania
$77,000
$61,210$90,16011,040$78,916
17NMNew Mexico
$76,940
$64,100$81,4802,150$83,438
18MNMinnesota
$76,600
$59,790$84,2204,130$77,671
19OHOhio
$76,180
$58,910$85,17010,580$82,114
20GAGeorgia
$74,150
$62,010$79,5004,090$77,005
21NHNew Hampshire
$69,560
$58,480$82,440910$66,779
22VAVirginia
$68,400
$59,900$85,0006,380$67,653
23COColorado
$67,240
$62,470$82,1702,970$65,249
24HIHawaii
$65,980
$59,070$75,590800$60,009
25TXTexas
$64,830
$61,340$73,18010,200$66,796
26AZArizona
$64,300
$54,630$79,1301,960$63,868
27UTUtah
$64,210
$50,640$79,2901,220$64,948
28WIWisconsin
$63,520
$58,450$77,1003,350$67,506
29NENebraska
$63,460
$60,470$75,8201,240$70,431
30WYWyoming
$62,750
$59,810$74,870350$67,698
31MTMontana
$62,310
$49,880$75,330480$65,835
32ALAlabama
$62,210
$58,460$71,070740$70,038
33SCSouth Carolina
$62,150
$58,430$75,5601,780$66,294
34MEMaine
$61,710
$49,660$79,690860$63,586
35FLFlorida
$61,510
$57,040$74,9607,940$59,479
36TNTennessee
$61,360
$52,540$65,7702,010$66,790
37NDNorth Dakota
$61,210
$51,950$72,360520$68,807
38INIndiana
$61,130
$50,630$75,9302,580$65,499
39NVNevada
$60,810
$54,380$78,990350$60,823
40IAIowa
$60,780
$51,430$75,6001,570$69,255
41KYKentucky
$60,730
$49,070$66,2602,680$67,359
42IDIdaho
$60,700
$49,850$71,960470$63,564
43KSKansas
$60,700
$50,770$64,1001,650$67,394
44OKOklahoma
$59,660
$49,180$61,9102,020$67,917
45LALouisiana
$59,100
$50,870$60,6503,160$67,001
46PRPuerto Rico
$58,080
$51,180$59,1201,840N/A
47ARArkansas
$57,000
$51,110$60,9101,280$65,565
48NCNorth Carolina
$56,770
$47,450$61,1003,400$60,185
49MOMissouri
$55,920
$46,920$62,4502,760$61,574
50WVWest Virginia
$55,390
$50,720$61,400840$61,890
51SDSouth Dakota
$54,810
$48,800$58,360500$61,872
52MSMississippi
$51,970
$47,930$60,0701,670$59,768

Method

How the cost-of-living adjustment works

The adjusted column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity (RPP) and multiplies by 100. RPPs measure how much a fixed basket of goods, services and rents costs in one state relative to the national average, so the result restates local pay in national-average dollars.

For special education teachers, secondary school, the adjustment does not change the leader: Washington is first on raw pay and still first once prices are taken into account, at $94,493.

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024 (public domain). The adjustment is NueCareer's calculation, not a BLS or BEA published statistic.

Questions

Special Education Teacher, Secondary School pay by state: FAQ

Which state pays special education teachers, secondary school the most?

Washington reports the highest median wage for special education teachers, secondary school at $101,120 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), followed by California ($101,060) and District of Columbia ($99,670).

Which state pays special education teachers, secondary school the least?

Among the 50 states and DC, Mississippi reports the lowest median for special education teachers, secondary school at $51,970 a year, $49,150 below the highest-paying state (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among the territories, Puerto Rico reports $58,080.

In which states do special education teachers, secondary school earn over $100,000?

2 of the 50 states and DC have a median of $100,000 or more: Washington ($101,120) and California ($101,060) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Is the highest-paying state the best for special education teachers, secondary school after cost of living?

Yes. Washington stays first after dividing each state median by its BEA Regional Price Parity, at $94,493 in national-average dollars from a raw $101,120. BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024; the adjustment is NueCareer's calculation.

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