SalaryExplorer

SOC 25-2052 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School — Jackson

Jackson, TN · 8 metro areas compared

$52,370 /year
110jobs in area
−19.6%vs US median

Median pay for this occupation in Jackson, TN is $52,370 a year, trailing the national median of $65,120 by 19.6%.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $65,12010TH$49,190MEDIAN$52,37090TH$64,400

How pay has moved

$55,290$46,7102019202020212022202320242025$52,370
$48,140 in 2019 to $52,370 in 2025, +8.8% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to decline

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
-1.8%
Openings per year
15,400
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Jackson, TN.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

Median pay for this occupation in Jackson, TN is $52,370 a year, trailing the national median of $65,120 by 19.6%. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $50,560 and $64,400. The lowest tenth earn under $49,190, while the highest tenth earn more than $64,400.

The area has 110 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.76 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Within the state, Nashville records the highest median at $65,170. Of the 286 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 130th.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Jackson, TN · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$49,190−24.5%
25th$50,560−22.4%
Median (50th)$52,370−19.6%
75th$64,400−1.1%
90th$64,400−1.1%
Mean$56,440−13.3%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Tennessee

Median annual wage for Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Nashville$65,1701,030
2Memphis$64,6401,330
3Chattanooga$63,220580
4Johnson City$62,56080
5Knoxville$60,390400
6Cleveland$59,22070
7Kingsport$55,380180
8Clarksville$48,44050

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Jackson run 14.5% below the national average, so the median of $52,370 goes as far as $61,251 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 5.9% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$52,370as reported by BLS

Local price level

85.5US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$61,251US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $52,370 a year, 19.6% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $49,190 to $64,400 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 110 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Nashville, at $65,170.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Jackson, TN?

The median annual wage is $52,370, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $65,120, so pay in Jackson, TN is 19.6% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Jackson, TN earns more than $64,400 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $49,190 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Nashville, at $65,170 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 110 jobs in this occupation in Jackson, TN. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.