Data current as of August 2026 · sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET
Yearly Monthly Biweekly Weekly Hourly
Average base salary, Mississippi
$55,000 / year
≈ $4,600 per month · $26.44 per hour
Location United States (national) Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Or metro area Metro area… Abilene, TX Aguadilla, PR Akron, OH Alaska nonmetropolitan area Albany, OR Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Albuquerque, NM Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ Amarillo, TX Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Anchorage, AK Ann Arbor, MI Arizona nonmetropolitan area Asheville, NC Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX Balance of Nevada nonmetropolitan area Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Barnstable Town, MA Baton Rouge, LA Battle Creek, MI Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX Bellingham, WA Bend, OR Billings, MT Binghamton, NY Birmingham, AL Bloomington, IL Boise City, ID Border Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Boulder, CO Bowling Green, KY Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Brunswick-St. Simons, GA Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY Burlington, NC Burlington-South Burlington, VT Canton-Massillon, OH Capital/Northern New York nonmetropolitan area Cedar Rapids, IA Central East New York nonmetropolitan area Central Indiana nonmetropolitan area Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area Central Louisiana nonmetropolitan area Central Missouri nonmetropolitan area Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area Central North Carolina nonmetropolitan area Central Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area Chambersburg, PA Champaign-Urbana, IL Charleston-North Charleston, SC Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Charlottesville, VA Chattanooga, TN-GA Cheyenne, WY Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Cleveland, OH Coastal Plains Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area College Station-Bryan, TX Colorado Springs, CO Columbia, MO Columbia, SC Columbus, OH Connecticut nonmetropolitan area Corpus Christi, TX Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH Decatur, IL Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Duluth, MN-WI Durham-Chapel Hill, NC East Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area East Georgia nonmetropolitan area East Kentucky nonmetropolitan area East North Dakota nonmetropolitan area East South Dakota nonmetropolitan area East Tennessee nonmetropolitan area East-Central Montana nonmetropolitan area Eastern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area Eastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area Eastern Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area Eastern Washington nonmetropolitan area Eastern Wyoming nonmetropolitan area Eastern and Southern Colorado nonmetropolitan area Eau Claire, WI El Paso, TX Elizabethtown, KY Erie, PA Eugene-Springfield, OR Evansville, IN Fargo, ND-MN Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR Flint, MI Fond du Lac, WI Fort Collins-Loveland, CO Fort Smith, AR-OK Fort Wayne, IN Fresno, CA Gainesville, GA Glens Falls, NY Grand Forks, ND-MN Grand Junction, CO Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI Greeley, CO Green Bay, WI Greensboro-High Point, NC Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Hattiesburg, MS Hawaii / Kauai nonmetropolitan area Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC High Desert Utah nonmetropolitan area Hill Country Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN Iowa City, IA Ithaca, NY Jackson, MS Jackson, TN Janesville-Beloit, WI Jefferson City, MO Jonesboro, AR Joplin, MO-KS Kankakee, IL Kansas City, MO-KS Kansas nonmetropolitan area Kennewick-Richland, WA Kenosha, WI Killeen-Temple, TX Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA Kingston, NY Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY Knoxville, TN La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Lafayette, LA Lake Charles, LA Lancaster, PA Lansing-East Lansing, MI Las Cruces, NM Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV Lawton, OK Lexington-Fayette, KY Lincoln, NE Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Longview, TX Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN Lower East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area Lower West Mississippi nonmetropolitan area Lubbock, TX Lynchburg, VA Macon-Bibb County, GA Madison, WI Manchester-Nashua, NH Manhattan, KS Mansfield, OH Maryland nonmetropolitan area Massachusetts nonmetropolitan area Mayaguez, PR McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Memphis, TN-MS-AR Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL Mid Michigan nonmetropolitan area Middle Georgia nonmetropolitan area Midland, TX Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Mobile, AL Modesto, CA Monroe, MI Montgomery, AL Muskegon-Norton Shores, MI Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN New Haven, CT New Orleans-Metairie, LA New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ North Arkansas nonmetropolitan area North Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area North Georgia nonmetropolitan area North Northeastern Ohio nonmetropolitan area (noncontiguous) North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL North Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area North Valley-Northern Mountains Region of California nonmetropolitan area Northeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area Northeast Louisiana nonmetropolitan area Northeast Maine nonmetropolitan area Northeast Nebraska nonmetropolitan area Northeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area Northeast Virginia nonmetropolitan area Northeastern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area Northern Indiana nonmetropolitan area Northern Michigan nonmetropolitan area Northern New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area Northern New Mexico nonmetropolitan area Northern Vermont nonmetropolitan area Northern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area Northwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area Northwest Illinois nonmetropolitan area Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area Northwest Nebraska nonmetropolitan area Northwest Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area Northwest Virginia nonmetropolitan area Northwestern Pennsylvania nonmetropolitan area Northwestern Region of Texas nonmetropolitan area Northwestern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT Odessa, TX Ogden, UT Oklahoma City, OK Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA Omaha, NE-IA Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Owensboro, KY Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA Paducah, KY-IL Peoria, IL Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ Pittsburgh, PA Pittsfield, MA Ponce, PR Port St. Lucie, FL Portland-South Portland, ME Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT Pueblo, CO Puerto Rico nonmetropolitan area Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI Raleigh-Cary, NC Rapid City, SD Reno, NV Richmond, VA Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Roanoke, VA Rochester, NY Rockford, IL Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA Saginaw, MI Salem, OR Salinas, CA Salisbury, MD Salt Lake City-Murray, UT San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA San Juan-Bayamon-Caguas, PR San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA Savannah, GA Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Sheboygan, WI Sherman-Denison, TX Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Sioux City, IA-NE-SD Sioux Falls, SD-MN South Arkansas nonmetropolitan area South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI South Central Kentucky nonmetropolitan area South Central Tennessee nonmetropolitan area South Central Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area South Georgia nonmetropolitan area South Illinois nonmetropolitan area South Nebraska nonmetropolitan area Southeast Iowa nonmetropolitan area Southeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area Southeast Missouri nonmetropolitan area Southeast Oklahoma nonmetropolitan area Southeast-Central Idaho nonmetropolitan area Southern Indiana nonmetropolitan area Southern Michigan nonmetropolitan area Southern Ohio nonmetropolitan area Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area Southern West Virginia nonmetropolitan area Southside Virginia nonmetropolitan area Southwest Colorado nonmetropolitan area Southwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area Southwest Louisiana nonmetropolitan area Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area Southwest New York nonmetropolitan area Southwest Virginia nonmetropolitan area Southwestern New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area Spartanburg, SC Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Springfield, IL Springfield, MA Springfield, MO Springfield, OH St. Cloud, MN St. Louis, MO-IL Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA Stockton-Lodi, CA Syracuse, NY Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Texarkana, TX-AR Toledo, OH Topeka, KS Trenton-Princeton, NJ Tucson, AZ Tulsa, OK Tyler, TX Upper East Mississippi nonmetropolitan area Upper Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area Utica-Rome, NY Vineland, NJ Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC Waco, TX Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Waterbury-Shelton, CT Watertown-Fort Drum, NY Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH West Arkansas nonmetropolitan area West Central Illinois nonmetropolitan area West Delta Mississippi nonmetropolitan area West Kentucky nonmetropolitan area West Montana nonmetropolitan area West Northwestern Ohio nonmetropolitan area West South Dakota nonmetropolitan area West Tennessee nonmetropolitan area Western North Carolina nonmetropolitan area Western Washington nonmetropolitan area Western Wisconsin nonmetropolitan area Western Wyoming nonmetropolitan area Wheeling, WV-OH Wichita Falls, TX Wichita, KS Wilmington, NC Winston-Salem, NC Worcester, MA Yakima, WA York-Hanover, PA Youngstown-Warren, OH Or industry (Grahall) Industry… Aerospace Agriculture Airline Apparel Automotive Banking Biotech Chemicals Commercial Computer Computer Hardware Computer Services Computer Storage Construction Consulting Consumer & Household Diversified Financials E-Commerce Education Electronics Energy Energy Marketing/Trading Entertainment Financial Services Food & Beverage Forect & Paper Healthcare Hedge Funds Hotel Householddurables Industrial Insurance Internet Commerce Internet Services Investment Lodging Managed Care Manufacturing Materials Media Medical Metals Not For Profit Office Supplies Packaging Pharmaceutical Private Equity/ Venture Capital Professional Services Publishing Real state Research Consulting Resturant Retail Semi Conductor Software Technology Telecom Transportation Utility Whole Sale Or city (Grahall) City… Atlanta, Georgia Austin, Texas Baltimore, Maryland Boston, Massachusetts Bridgeport, Connecticut Burlington, Vermont Charleston, South Carolina Charlotte, North Carolina Chicago, Illinois Cincinnati, Ohio Cleveland, Ohio Dallas, Texas Denver, Colorado Detroit, Michigan Hartford, Connecticut Houston, Texas Jacksonville, Florida Kansas City, Missouri Las Vegas, Nevada Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania Los Angeles, California Louisville, Kentucky Memphis, Tennessee Miami, Florida Milwaukee, Wisconsin Minneapolis, Minnesota Montclair, New Jersey New Haven, Connecticut New York – Statewide, United States New York-Manhattan, New York Orlando, Florida Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Portland, Oregon Providence, Rhode Island Riverside, California Sacramento, California San Antonio, Texas San Diego, California San Francisco, California San Jose, California Sarasota, Florida Scottsdale, Arizona Seattle, Washington St Louis, Missouri Tampa, Florida Virginia Beach, Virginia Washington, Columbia White Plains, New York Worcester, Massachusetts BLS May 2025 state data for Mississippi · median $52,500
25th percentile$49,500 Average$55,000 75th percentile$61,500
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, aged to 2026 using compounded market movement. State selections show BLS state-level figures where published. Actual pay varies with experience, industry, and organization size.
Special Education Teachers, Middle School salary by state
Total cash compensation Base salary plus target bonus using the Grahall equation. Bonus is a function of base; higher base means a higher target bonus.
Base salary
$76,500
National baseline
Target bonus
$8,500
11.1% of base
Total target cash
$85,000
Base plus target bonus
Bonus range (25th to 75th percentile): $5,000 to $14,000
Long-term incentive (LTI) varies by industry and executive tier and is not included in this view.
What Special Education Teachers, Middle Schools do
Typical education: Bachelor's Degree
Develop or write Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and policies and procedures to maintain order among students.
Develop and implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of handicapping conditions.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Instruct students in daily living skills required for independent maintenance and self-sufficiency, such as hygiene, safety, and food preparation.
Top skills: Speaking Social Perceptiveness Learning Strategies Instructing Active Listening Active Learning
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Special Education Teachers, Middle School pay by experience level
Entry level $51,000
Typical starting pay (about the 10th percentile)
Early career $62,000
A few years in (about the 25th percentile)
Experienced $69,000
Mid-career median pay
Senior $85,500
Seasoned professionals (about the 75th percentile)
Top earners $106,000
Highest earners (about the 90th percentile)
Experience tiers are derived from the BLS wage percentile distribution for this occupation, aged to 2026. Actual pay varies by employer, location, and specialization.
Job outlook
-1.9%
projected change in jobs, 2024–2034
6,300
projected openings per year
Declining
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program (2024–2034). Openings include growth and replacement needs.
Special Education Teachers, Middle School salary by industry
Educational Services
94,990 workers
$76,500 Elementary and Secondary Schools
94,900 workers
$76,500 Educational Services, Local Government Owned
88,670 workers
$77,000 Educational Services, Privately Owned
5,590 workers
$65,000 Educational Services, State Government Owned
730 workers
$81,500 Educational Support Services
90 workers
$75,500 Nursing and Residential Care Facilities
70 workers
$78,000 Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse Facilities
50 workers
$81,500
National sector-level figures, BLS OEWS May 2025, aged to 2026.
How this role compares
Special Education Teachers, Middle School pays 14% below the average across 65 roles in the Educational Instruction and Library job family (family average $88,500).
Similar-paying roles in Educational Instruction and Library
Careers related to Special Education Teachers, Middle School
Related occupations from O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Special Education Teachers, Middle School make?
The average base salary for a Special Education Teachers, Middle School in the United States is $76,500 per year, or about $36.78 per hour.
What is the typical salary range?
Pay typically falls between $62,000 and $85,500 per year (25th to 75th percentile) depending on experience, location, industry, and organization size.
How does this compare with other Educational Instruction and Library roles?
The Educational Instruction and Library job family averages $88,500 across 65 roles tracked by WePayFairly.
Need a defensible market price for this role?
Explore Market Data Our Methodology
