Special Education Teachers, Secondary School Salary

Yes — at the median salary of $55K, rent takes 27.1% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,008/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 $48K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $2,859/month. At HUD’s $1,008/month FMR, rent would take 35% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 25% below the national median — $55K here vs. $74K nationally. Cost of living is 11% below the national average, which narrows that gap in real purchasing power.

West Virginia pays $55K median vs. the U.S. average of $74K — that’s -25%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 89.03), the purchasing-power equivalent is $62K — below the national median.

The median is $55,390 a year. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $47,650, and experienced special education teachers, secondary schools can clear $69,270. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,715/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,008/month, which eats 27.1% of your paycheck. That's under the 30% guideline most financial planners use, so the numbers work.

West Virginia has a Regional Price Parity of 89.03 (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 $62,215 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.