Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education salary
SOC 25-2021 · BLS OEWS May 2025
What the range looks like
A single median hides most of what a job pays. The bar below is the full national range: the wash spans the 10th to 90th percentile, the solid bar is the middle half, and the tick is the median.
- 10th
- $47,960
- 25th
- $57,710
- Median
- $63,970
- 75th
- $81,450
- 90th
- $104,340
Getting in
- Typical education to enter
- Bachelor's degree
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- None
Entry requirements describe what is typical, not mandatory. Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34.
Where elementary school teachers, except special education earn the most
Nominal pay and pay adjusted for local prices rank states differently — a high-wage state with high costs can be worse off in real terms than a middling one. Switch between the two below.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | State | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | $102,350 | 107.0 | 28,980 | 0.91× |
| 2 | California | $99,650 | 110.7 | 155,160 | 0.95× |
| 3 | District of Columbia | $96,580 | 109.9 | 3,750 | 0.60× |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $94,000 | 105.8 | 29,930 | 0.92× |
| 5 | Rhode Island | $90,930 | 102.3 | 3,830 | 0.86× |
| 6 | New York | $85,760 | 107.9 | 101,410 | 1.17× |
| 7 | Connecticut | $80,600 | 103.6 | 16,330 | 1.08× |
| 8 | Alaska | $79,260 | 102.4 | 3,500 | 1.20× |
| 9 | New Jersey | $78,200 | 108.8 | 40,300 | 1.05× |
| 10 | Maryland | $77,680 | 105.0 | 29,610 | 1.20× |
| 11 | Ohio | $77,370 | 92.8 | 47,870 | 0.97× |
| 12 | Oregon | $77,130 | 103.4 | 12,600 | 0.72× |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | $77,060 | 97.6 | 48,370 | 0.89× |
| 14 | Minnesota | $76,350 | 98.6 | 26,640 | 1.01× |
| 15 | Delaware | $75,920 | 99.8 | 2,900 | 0.67× |
| 16 | Illinois | $75,320 | 100.0 | 61,520 | 1.13× |
| 17 | Utah | $74,810 | 98.9 | 14,820 | 0.96× |
| 18 | New Mexico | $74,550 | 92.2 | 6,210 | 0.80× |
| 19 | New Hampshire | $72,410 | 104.2 | 5,190 | 0.85× |
| 20 | Georgia | $72,290 | 96.3 | 43,820 | 1.00× |
| 21 | Hawaii | $71,410 | 110.0 | 6,040 | 1.08× |
| 22 | Virginia | $65,550 | 101.1 | 37,880 | 1.03× |
| 23 | Michigan | $65,110 | 96.2 | 40,910 | 1.04× |
| 24 | Nevada | $65,040 | 100.0 | 9,550 | 0.69× |
| 25 | Colorado | $63,410 | 103.1 | 24,860 | 0.97× |
| 26 | Vermont | $63,070 | 98.0 | 3,610 | 1.33× |
| 27 | Texas | $62,760 | 97.1 | 116,260 | 0.93× |
| 28 | Maine | $62,390 | 97.0 | 7,490 | 1.31× |
| 29 | Nebraska | $62,380 | 90.1 | 8,710 | 0.95× |
| 30 | Idaho | $61,600 | 95.5 | 6,850 | 0.90× |
| 31 | Alabama | $61,380 | 88.8 | 22,030 | 1.17× |
| 32 | Wisconsin | $61,210 | 94.1 | 24,920 | 0.95× |
| 33 | Wyoming | $61,150 | 92.7 | 2,600 | 1.04× |
| 34 | South Carolina | $60,820 | 93.7 | 25,030 | 1.22× |
| 35 | Kentucky | $60,610 | 90.2 | 19,080 | 1.07× |
| 36 | Iowa | $60,580 | 87.8 | 17,300 | 1.24× |
| 37 | North Dakota | $60,030 | 89.0 | 4,430 | 1.15× |
| 38 | Tennessee | $59,980 | 91.9 | 28,240 | 0.96× |
| 39 | Indiana | $59,700 | 93.3 | 27,720 | 0.97× |
| 40 | Florida | $58,930 | 103.4 | 79,090 | 0.89× |
| 41 | Louisiana | $58,770 | 88.2 | 22,060 | 1.28× |
| 42 | Montana | $57,530 | 94.6 | 4,960 | 1.09× |
| 43 | Arizona | $56,590 | 100.7 | 24,240 | 0.84× |
| 44 | Kansas | $56,450 | 90.1 | 14,350 | 1.12× |
| 45 | West Virginia | $55,630 | 89.5 | 5,420 | 0.87× |
| 46 | North Carolina | $54,930 | 94.3 | 42,410 | 0.96× |
| 47 | Arkansas | $52,700 | 86.9 | 12,590 | 1.08× |
| 48 | Missouri | $50,910 | 90.8 | 33,180 | 1.27× |
| 49 | South Dakota | $50,130 | 88.6 | 4,290 | 1.05× |
| 50 | Mississippi | $49,790 | 87.0 | 11,060 | 1.07× |
| 51 | Oklahoma | $48,200 | 87.8 | 18,500 | 1.21× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. States where elementary school teachers, except special education wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Best paying metro areas for elementary school teachers, except special education
The 40 highest-paying metros with a published estimate. BLS suppresses roughly half of all occupation-by-metro cells, so a metro absent here has no local figure rather than a low one.
The median wage as published, before local prices are taken into account.
| # | Metro area | Median | Cost of living | Employed | Concentrationvs. national |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA | $104,650 | 103.7 | 950 | 0.81× |
| 2 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $103,390 | 106.7 | 10,480 | 1.09× |
| 3 | Walla Walla, WA | $102,980 | 98.5 | 220 | 0.94× |
| 4 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $102,920 | 111.1 | 14,560 | 0.78× |
| 5 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $102,860 | 110.4 | 7,810 | 0.77× |
| 6 | Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA | $102,650 | 105.6 | 900 | 1.07× |
| 7 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $101,860 | 113.6 | 44,790 | 0.80× |
| 8 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $101,860 | 115.6 | 17,860 | 0.84× |
| 9 | Modesto, CA | $101,640 | 104.1 | 2,450 | 1.40× |
| 10 | Bellingham, WA | $101,230 | 103.3 | 790 | 0.97× |
| 11 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $101,030 | 108.8 | 2,170 | 1.21× |
| 12 | Vallejo, CA | $100,790 | 108.5 | 1,680 | 1.30× |
| 13 | Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA | $100,730 | 102.4 | 500 | 1.07× |
| 14 | Napa, CA | $100,410 | 112.6 | 570 | 0.82× |
| 15 | El Centro, CA | $100,390 | 95.2 | 860 | 1.48× |
| 16 | Kennewick-Richland, WA | $100,380 | 100.1 | 1,410 | 1.22× |
| 17 | Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA | $100,340 | 103.9 | 510 | 1.11× |
| 18 | Barnstable Town, MA | $100,320 | 98.4 | 810 | 0.97× |
| 19 | Salinas, CA | $100,220 | 109.0 | 2,280 | 1.37× |
| 20 | Merced, CA | $100,120 | 98.3 | 1,560 | 2.19× |
| 21 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $99,420 | 110.5 | 3,060 | 1.06× |
| 22 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | $99,260 | 109.9 | 1,000 | 1.14× |
| 23 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $99,060 | 107.8 | 2,180 | 1.19× |
| 24 | Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | $98,800 | 100.3 | 2,340 | 1.02× |
| 25 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT | $98,600 | 106.9 | 4,590 | 1.27× |
| 26 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $98,520 | 106.4 | 18,850 | 1.23× |
| 27 | Hanford-Corcoran, CA | $98,470 | 101.6 | 950 | 2.18× |
| 28 | Visalia, CA | $98,430 | 99.8 | 2,440 | 1.60× |
| 29 | Yakima, WA | $98,330 | 95.5 | 1,360 | 1.57× |
| 30 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $98,060 | 108.3 | 20,340 | 0.84× |
| 31 | Kingston, NY | $97,920 | 100.7 | 710 | 1.35× |
| 32 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $97,620 | 108.6 | 1,140 | 1.05× |
| 33 | Stockton-Lodi, CA | $97,400 | 105.1 | 3,380 | 1.31× |
| 34 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $97,000 | 111.9 | 11,340 | 0.83× |
| 35 | Yuba City, CA | $97,000 | 104.2 | 920 | 2.01× |
| 36 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $96,900 | 112.6 | 98,900 | 1.17× |
| 37 | Chico, CA | $95,000 | 101.2 | 1,120 | 1.60× |
| 38 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | $86,720 | 101.8 | 6,280 | 0.99× |
| 39 | Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT | $83,840 | 100.4 | 1,060 | 0.94× |
| 40 | Redding, CA | $83,780 | 100.7 | 1,110 | 1.74× |
Cost of living is the BEA regional price parity for all items, where 100 is the national average. Concentration is the BLS location quotient: how much more of the local workforce does this job than the national average, so 2.00× means twice the national share. It is often the reason wages differ — a place that concentrates an occupation has the employers and the competition for it. Metro areas where elementary school teachers, except special education wages are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality are omitted.
Similar occupations
Other jobs in the same field, with what each pays nationally.
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$72,040
- Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$64,370
- Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education$38,140
- Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School$65,120
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School$74,260
- Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School$66,270
- Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education$62,680
- Special Education Teachers, Middle School$66,810