Private school teachers earning less is surprising.
USAFacts on
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, and while there are certainly lots of different ways to appreciate teachers, I find that one of my favorite motivators to do my job (not a teacher, unless you count posting here as teaching) is money.
Also, I couldn’t find any data on how many $5 Starbucks gift cards were left on teachers’ desks this week, so here’s some data on salaries:
The median annual wages for pre-K-12 teachers was about $63,000 last year, based on BLS estimates. The lowest-paid 10% earned $46,800 or less, while the highest-paid 10% earned $102,000 or more.
For comparison, the median wage across all occupations was $49,500, or about 20% lower than the median for teachers.
But annual pay varies by a number of factors, including grade levels taught, school type (public or private), teacher type (general, technical, or special education), and location.
* High school teachers earn $64.7K annually, more than teachers of younger grades.
* Teachers in public schools made more than those in private schools at all grade levels.
* Special education teachers tend to earn a higher median wage than other teachers.
When adjusted for cost of living:
* Preschool teachers were paid the most in DC
* Kindergarten teachers were paid the most in Rhode Island
* Elementary, middle, and high school teachers were paid the most in Washington State
>On November 20, 2024, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) [suspended publication](https://www.bls.gov/cew/notices/2024/suspension-of-publication-of-colorado-employment-and-wage-data.htm) of industry and substate data for Colorado due to data quality concerns. These data quality concerns were due to ongoing issues with the modernization of the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) system. Because the QCEW microdata are fundamentally a byproduct of state UI systems, QCEW data quality is sensitive to changes in these systems.
mike_litoris18 on
Something ain’t right about the private vs public teachers. There is no way private school teachers earn less. That has to be some B’s.
_nxious on
Good colour scheme. I am in grayscale mode, yet the colour scheme is (perceptually) linear.
cricket9818 on
Special Ed teacher of 15 years.
Why do special ed teachers get paid more? Every salary scale I’ve seen is based on years of service. Being certified for special ed doesn’t advance your salary in anyway
absolutemayyhem on
Well, at least Texas is consistent
ThMogget on
Idaho pay is worse than surrounding states we can’t keep teachers. Is this like downtown Boise numbers or something?
shapesize on
Arkansas’ pay is way higher than I expected
J_Capo_23 on
It’s disgusting that teachers make so little and have to buy their own supplies
COLONELmab on
Can you add the value of the benefits? Average annual oop expense and benefits deductions compared to the rest of non government jobs?
Shagyam on
65k seems like far too little to have had to deal with teenage me.
And considering what kids are like 20 years later I don’t know how they deal with the kids now with kids being stuck on phones, turning in ChatGPT homework and just their general attitude now.
![Teacher pay in the US in 8 charts [OC]](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/uvc17zaxdfze1-1024x1024.png "Teacher pay in the US in 8 charts [OC]")
17 Comments
Source: [US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics](https://www.bls.gov/oes/)
Tools: Datawrapper, Illustrator
More data [here](https://usafacts.org/answers/how-much-do-teachers-get-paid-in-the-us/country/united-states/)
We don’t pay our teachers here in Colorado.
Private school teachers earning less is surprising.
It’s Teacher Appreciation Week, and while there are certainly lots of different ways to appreciate teachers, I find that one of my favorite motivators to do my job (not a teacher, unless you count posting here as teaching) is money.
Also, I couldn’t find any data on how many $5 Starbucks gift cards were left on teachers’ desks this week, so here’s some data on salaries:
The median annual wages for pre-K-12 teachers was about $63,000 last year, based on BLS estimates. The lowest-paid 10% earned $46,800 or less, while the highest-paid 10% earned $102,000 or more.
For comparison, the median wage across all occupations was $49,500, or about 20% lower than the median for teachers.
But annual pay varies by a number of factors, including grade levels taught, school type (public or private), teacher type (general, technical, or special education), and location.
* High school teachers earn $64.7K annually, more than teachers of younger grades.
* Teachers in public schools made more than those in private schools at all grade levels.
* Special education teachers tend to earn a higher median wage than other teachers.
When adjusted for cost of living:
* Preschool teachers were paid the most in DC
* Kindergarten teachers were paid the most in Rhode Island
* Elementary, middle, and high school teachers were paid the most in Washington State
More data [here](https://usafacts.org/answers/how-much-do-teachers-get-paid-in-the-us/country/united-states/) if you’re curious!
My state white in every category 😅
Considering how important education is, you’d think teachers would be paid commensurate to their value to society…
I taught full time at a public university in Colorado and made less than the Pre-School average? Ouch.
In case anyone is wondering what the heck happened in Colorado, apparently their data had quality concerns.
[BLS says](https://www.bls.gov/oes/notices/2024/colorado-data.htm):
>On November 20, 2024, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) [suspended publication](https://www.bls.gov/cew/notices/2024/suspension-of-publication-of-colorado-employment-and-wage-data.htm) of industry and substate data for Colorado due to data quality concerns. These data quality concerns were due to ongoing issues with the modernization of the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) system. Because the QCEW microdata are fundamentally a byproduct of state UI systems, QCEW data quality is sensitive to changes in these systems.
Something ain’t right about the private vs public teachers. There is no way private school teachers earn less. That has to be some B’s.
Good colour scheme. I am in grayscale mode, yet the colour scheme is (perceptually) linear.
Special Ed teacher of 15 years.
Why do special ed teachers get paid more? Every salary scale I’ve seen is based on years of service. Being certified for special ed doesn’t advance your salary in anyway
Well, at least Texas is consistent
Idaho pay is worse than surrounding states we can’t keep teachers. Is this like downtown Boise numbers or something?
Arkansas’ pay is way higher than I expected
It’s disgusting that teachers make so little and have to buy their own supplies
Can you add the value of the benefits? Average annual oop expense and benefits deductions compared to the rest of non government jobs?
65k seems like far too little to have had to deal with teenage me.
And considering what kids are like 20 years later I don’t know how they deal with the kids now with kids being stuck on phones, turning in ChatGPT homework and just their general attitude now.