Special Education Teachers, Middle School Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $79K, rent takes 26.9% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,350/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new special education teachers, middle schools typically earn — is $48K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,905/month. At HUD’s $1,350/month FMR, rent would take 46% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay is 18% above the national median — $79K here vs. $67K nationally.

Utah pays $79K median vs. the U.S. average of $67K — that’s +18%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 98.54), the purchasing-power equivalent is $80K — still ahead of the national median.

The median is $78,920 a year. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $48,410, and experienced special education teachers, middle schools can clear $113,830. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $5,020/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,350/month, which eats 26.9% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Utah has a Regional Price Parity of 98.54 (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 special education teachers, middle school salary is worth about $80,089 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.