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Salary data from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Special Education Teachers, Middle School Salary: Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV vs Modesto, CA

Special Education Teachers, Middle School earn a median of $46,370 in Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV and $100,540 in Modesto, CA. That is a nominal gap of $54,170 (-53.9%), with Modesto, CA paying more before any cost-of-living adjustment.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2024 estimates. Cost-of-living adjustment uses BEA Regional Price Parities, most recent release.

$46,370
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV median
$46,271 after COL
$100,540
Modesto, CA median
$96,573 after COL
-53.9%
Nominal gap
Modesto, CA leads
-52.1%
Adjusted gap
Modesto, CA leads after COL

The story behind the numbers

On raw wages, Modesto, CA pays $54,170 more per year than Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV for special education teachers, middle school, a gap of +53.9%.

After adjusting for cost of living, Modesto, CA still comes out ahead, with roughly $50,302 of extra purchasing power (+52.1% real gap). Local prices do not reverse the nominal advantage.

Full breakdown by location

Detailed wage, employment, and cost-of-living figures for special education teachers, middle school in each location. Click through to the full local salary page for percentiles, outlook, and peer areas.

Special Education Teachers, Middle School

Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV

Median salary
$46,370
Mean salary
$47,590
Employment
180
Location quotient
0.26
Jobs per 1,000
0.2
COL-adjusted median
$46,271
Regional Price Parity
100.2%

Exact metro RPP match.

Full Special Education Teachers, Middle School page for Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV →

Special Education Teachers, Middle School

Modesto, CA

Median salary
$100,540
Mean salary
$95,230
Employment
60
Location quotient
0.47
Jobs per 1,000
0.3
COL-adjusted median
$96,573
Regional Price Parity
104.1%

Exact metro RPP match.

Full Special Education Teachers, Middle School page for Modesto, CA →

Related pages

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Common questions about this comparison

What does the cost-of-living adjustment actually do? +

It divides each location's nominal median wage by its Regional Price Parity (RPP), which measures how local prices compare to the national average (100 = national). A wage of $100,000 in an area with RPP 120 has the same purchasing power as roughly $83,000 nationally.

Why would the nominal and adjusted winners disagree? +

High-cost metros often pay higher salaries, but not by enough to fully offset the higher cost of housing, goods, and services. When that happens, the location with the lower nominal wage actually offers more real purchasing power.

What is a location quotient? +

The location quotient measures how concentrated an occupation is in a given area versus the national average. A value of 2.0 means the occupation is twice as common there as nationally. It is a signal of what a metro specializes in.