What Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education earn in Licking County, OH
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $81,400: the median annual pay for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Licking County, OH. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $39.13 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Columbus, OH metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $85,780, which is 5.4% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 9,210 people working in this occupation across the Columbus, OH metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Licking County, OH has roughly 181,837 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in the Columbus, OH metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $51,340 a year ($24.68 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $118,650 or more ($57.04 an hour). That is a gap of $67,310 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $62,560 at the 25th percentile and $102,190 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 2.3 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: $39.13 an hour or $81,400 a year at the median for Licking County, OH. Before any deductions, that is $6,783 a month, $3,131 every two weeks and $1,565 each week. After taxes the same job pays $30.94 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education this way: "Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students"; "Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies"; "Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students"; "Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress".
Job outlook for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to shrink from 1,087,500 jobs in 2025 to 1,085,000 in 2035, a change of -0.2%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 63,500 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 5.8% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: bachelor's degree. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $72,040 for this occupation; the Licking County, OH median of $81,400 is 13.0% above it.
How pay in Licking County, OH compares
Compared with the Ohio average
A worker in this occupation in Licking County, OH earns $4,874 more than the Ohio average of $76,526, a premium of 6.4%. Over a year that premium is worth $4,874 before tax and roughly $3,853 after tax. Within Ohio, Licking County, OH already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is $75,178 across the contiguous United States. At $81,400, Licking County, OH pays $6,222 more, which is 8.3% above 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 Licking County, OH
Among the 540 occupations with published wages in Licking County, OH, Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education ranks number 125 by median pay, ahead of about 77% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Software Developers at $122,340 a year, which is $40,940 more than the median for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical 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 Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education earning the Licking County, OH median of $81,400, they add up to $17,054. The result is $64,346 of take-home pay a year ($5,362 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $21 goes to taxes and $79 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 20.9%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $65,650. 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 22% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $9,357, an effective 11.5% of gross pay, well below the 22% 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 $5,047 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $1,180. FICA totals $6,227, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Ohio
Ohio income tax on this salary is $1,470 a year, or 1.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 16% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $122 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 Licking County, OH
IRS Statistics of Income data for Licking County, OH show an average adjusted gross income of $79,406 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 11.7% across all filers. Filers in the $75,000 to under $100,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 8.7%, compared with the 11.5% 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 Licking County, OH
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Licking County, OH: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $64,346 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Licking County, OH, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,346 a month ($16,152 a year), and at $1,602 for two bedrooms. For Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education, a one-bedroom absorbs 25.1% of take-home pay and 19.8% 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 4.2% of gross pay for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Licking County, OH. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Ohio residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,689 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $525, for $2,214 in total. Gasoline in Ohio averages $3.25 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,504.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $23,306 a year in Licking County, OH. Subtract that from $64,346 of take-home pay and $41,040 remains, which is $3,420 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 50.4% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for Licking County, OH
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in Licking County, OH: 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 Licking County, OH, set beside the Ohio and national medians.
Property taxes in Licking County, OH
Homeowners in Licking County, OH pay a median of $3,364 a year in real estate taxes, 19% above the Ohio median of $2,822 and 8% above the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $275,200, the median tax bill is 1.22% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education median of $81,400, a tax bill of that size would equal 4.1% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in Licking County, OH
Renters in Licking County, OH pay a median gross rent of $1,078 a month in the Census survey, 4% above the Ohio median of $1,034. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,346 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 $275,200, 28% above the Ohio median of $214,800. Median household income is $84,426, 18% above the Ohio median of $71,389, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 19.1% of that income.
Commuting in Licking County, OH
Workers in Licking County, OH who travel to a workplace spend an average of 26.6 minutes each way, 14% above the Ohio average of 23.4. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.4 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 15.8% of workers in Licking County, OH work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education afford to live in Licking County, OH?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $81,400 that ceiling is $2,035 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,346 is $689 under it, so rent fits the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $25.88 an hour; the median for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is $39.13, which is 51% above that mark. Another way to see it: at $30.94 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 10.0 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,602 a month means $801 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $6,540 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $47,580.
How fast you can save
At $3,420 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 3 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 6 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education pay in Licking County, OH
How much do Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education make per hour in Licking County, OH?
The median is $39.13 per hour, based on $81,400 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $24.68 at the 10th percentile to $57.04 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education take home after taxes in Licking County, OH?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $81,400 becomes $64,346 a year. That is $5,362 a month, $2,475 every two weeks or $1,237 a week.
How much tax do Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education pay in Licking County, OH?
Total taxes are $17,054 a year, an effective rate of 20.9%: $9,357 federal income tax, $6,227 FICA and $1,470 Ohio income tax.
Do Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education earn more in Licking County, OH than elsewhere in Ohio?
Yes. The local median of $81,400 is +6.4% versus the Ohio average of $76,526, a difference of $4,874 a year.
Can Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education afford a one-bedroom apartment in Licking County, OH?
A one-bedroom costs $1,346 a month against take-home pay of $5,362, which is 25.1% of take-home pay. That meets the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $2,035 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Licking County, OH?
About $3,420 a month ($41,040 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $23,306 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Licking County, OH at the 30% guideline?
$25.88 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $16,152 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is $39.13.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Columbus, OH 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 Ohio 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.