Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $62K, rent takes 26.5% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,085/month. That stays under the 30% guideline most financial planners use.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new special education teachers, secondary schools typically earn — is $50K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $3,001/month. At HUD’s $1,085/month FMR, rent would take 36% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 16% below the national median — $62K here vs. $74K nationally. Cost of living is 12% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

Alabama pays $62K median vs. the U.S. average of $74K — that’s -16%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 88.36), the purchasing-power equivalent is $70K — below the national median.

The median is $62,210 a year. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $50,020, and experienced special education teachers, secondary schools can clear $75,030. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $4,090/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,085/month, which eats 26.5% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

Alabama has a Regional Price Parity of 88.36 (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, secondary school salary is worth about $70,405 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.