Compared with the local labor market
Special Education Teacher pay vs. the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area
Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Special Education Teachers, All Other — about 1,550 people — is $74,180. Ariel Community Academy pays a median base salary of $92,624 for this role, 25% above that figure — about the 82nd percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Ariel Community Academy sits in the local pay range
$49,550
$60,990
$74,180
$83,760
$103,030
Ariel Community Academy median · $92,624
The bar is the range of annual wages for Special Education Teachers, All Other across every employer in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Ariel Community Academy’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Special Education Teachers, All Other — about 33,930 people — is $76,580. Ariel Community Academy’s median base salary is 21% above that national figure, about the 67th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$48,440
$60,930
$76,580
$99,690
$120,080
Ariel Community Academy median · $92,624
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Ariel Community Academy is $123,405, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare jurisdictions
Special Education Teacher beyond Chicago Public Schools
This role is reported in 3 jurisdictions. In Chicago Public Schools, the median of $125,310 ranks #1 of 3. See Special Education Teacher across all of Chicago Public Schools →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Special Education Teacherroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.