Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $60K, rent takes 25.7% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,021/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new middle school teachers, except special and career/technical educations typically earn — is $50K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,987/month. At HUD’s $1,021/month FMR, rent would take 34% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Pay here is roughly in line with the national average — $60K locally vs. $64K nationally, a 7% difference.

Arkansas pays $60K median vs. the U.S. average of $64K — that’s -7%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 87.64), the purchasing-power equivalent is $68K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $59,570 a year. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $49,780, and experienced middle school teachers, except special and career/technical educations can clear $74,100. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,979/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,021/month, which eats 25.7% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Arkansas has a Regional Price Parity of 87.64 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education salary is worth about $67,971 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.