What Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education earn in Maricopa County, AZ
The median pay for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Maricopa County, AZ is $36,500 per year, which works out to $17.55 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metropolitan area, the labor market that Maricopa County, AZ belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $39,350, which is 7.8% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 6,880 people working in this occupation across the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Maricopa County, AZ has roughly 4,559,748 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $33,850 a year ($16.27 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $48,770 or more ($23.45 an hour). That is a gap of $14,920 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $35,430 at the 25th percentile and $38,150 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.4 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $17.55 an hour or $36,500 a year at the median for Maricopa County, AZ. Before any deductions, that is $3,042 a month, $1,404 every two weeks and $702 each week. After taxes the same job pays $14.86 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education this way: "Instruct preschool-aged students, following curricula or lesson plans, in activities designed to promote social, physical, and intellectual growth."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play"; "Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, and changing their diapers"; "Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills"; "Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order".
Job outlook for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 583,200 jobs in 2025 to 609,400 in 2035, a change of +4.5%, faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 66,700 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 11.4% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: associate's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $38,140 for this occupation; the Maricopa County, AZ median of $36,500 is 4.3% below it.
How pay in Maricopa County, AZ compares
Compared with the Arizona average
Pay for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Maricopa County, AZ is in line with the statewide figure: $36,500 locally against an employment-weighted Arizona average of $36,174, a difference of only $326 (0.9%). Within Arizona, Maricopa County, AZ already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education is $39,850 across the contiguous United States. At $36,500, Maricopa County, AZ pays $3,350 less, which is 8.4% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Maricopa County, AZ
Among the 553 occupations with published wages in Maricopa County, AZ, Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education ranks number 530 by median pay, ahead of about 4% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $169,720 a year, which is $133,220 more than the median for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education earning the Maricopa County, AZ median of $36,500, they add up to $5,581. The result is $30,919 of take-home pay a year ($2,577 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $15 goes to taxes and $85 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 15.3%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $20,750. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $2,252, an effective 6.2% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,263 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $529. FICA totals $2,792, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Arizona
Arizona income tax on this salary is $538 a year, or 1.5% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 24% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $45 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Maricopa County, AZ
IRS Statistics of Income data for Maricopa County, AZ show an average adjusted gross income of $99,642 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.9% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.2%, compared with the 6.2% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Maricopa County, AZ
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Maricopa County, AZ: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $30,919 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Maricopa County, AZ, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,493 a month ($17,916 a year), and at $1,734 for two bedrooms. For Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education, a one-bedroom absorbs 58.0% of take-home pay and 49.1% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 9.4% of gross pay for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Maricopa County, AZ. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Arizona residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,575 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $812, for $2,387 in total. Gasoline in Arizona averages $3.80 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,759.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $25,498 a year in Maricopa County, AZ. Subtract that from $30,919 of take-home pay and $5,421 remains, which is $452 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 14.9% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Local housing and commute data for Maricopa County, AZ
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Maricopa County, AZ: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for Maricopa County, AZ, set beside the Arizona and national medians.
Property taxes in Maricopa County, AZ
Homeowners in Maricopa County, AZ pay a median of $1,983 a year in real estate taxes, 6% above the Arizona median of $1,879 and 36% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $452,800, the median tax bill is 0.44% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education median of $36,500, a tax bill of that size would equal 5.4% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Maricopa County, AZ
Renters in Maricopa County, AZ pay a median gross rent of $1,708 a month in the Census survey, 11% above the Arizona median of $1,543. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,493 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $452,800, 15% above the Arizona median of $394,500. Median household income is $89,300, 12% above the Arizona median of $79,964, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 20.1% of that income.
Commuting in Maricopa County, AZ
Workers in Maricopa County, AZ who travel to a workplace spend an average of 26.0 minutes each way, 2% above the Arizona average of 25.4. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.3 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 20.8% of workers in Maricopa County, AZ work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education afford to live in Maricopa County, AZ?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $36,500 that ceiling is $912 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,493 is $581 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $28.71 an hour; the median for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education is $17.55, which is 39% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $14.86 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 23.2 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,734 a month means $867 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,512 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $12,933.
How fast you can save
At $452 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 23 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 46 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education pay in Maricopa County, AZ
How much do Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education make per hour in Maricopa County, AZ?
The median is $17.55 per hour, based on $36,500 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $16.27 at the 10th percentile to $23.45 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education take home after taxes in Maricopa County, AZ?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $36,500 becomes $30,919 a year. That is $2,577 a month, $1,189 every two weeks or $595 a week.
How much tax do Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education pay in Maricopa County, AZ?
Total taxes are $5,581 a year, an effective rate of 15.3%: $2,252 federal income tax, $2,792 FICA and $538 Arizona income tax.
Do Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education earn more in Maricopa County, AZ than elsewhere in Arizona?
It is about the same. The local median of $36,500 is within 0.9% of the Arizona average of $36,174.
Can Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education afford a one-bedroom apartment in Maricopa County, AZ?
A one-bedroom costs $1,493 a month against take-home pay of $2,577, which is 57.9% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $912 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education in Maricopa County, AZ?
About $452 a month ($5,421 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $25,498 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Maricopa County, AZ at the 30% guideline?
$28.71 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $17,916 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education is $17.55.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Arizona rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.