SalariesWhat the occupation covers
Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level. Excludes “Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School” (25-2032), “Special Education Teachers” (25-2050), and “Substitute Teachers, Short-Term” (25-3031).
Official definition from the Standard Occupational Classification, code 25-2031.
The pay range
Pay differs a lot inside one occupation, with experience, employer and place. The table shows where the lines fall.
| Share of workers | A year | A month* | A week* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest 10% earn less than | $48,780 | $4,065 | $938 |
| Lowest 25% earn less than | $59,980 | $4,998 | $1,153 |
| Median (half earn less, half more) | $72,040 | $6,003 | $1,385 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $92,570 | $7,714 | $1,780 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $107,600 | $8,967 | $2,069 |
* Month and week are the yearly figure divided by 12 and by 52, worked out here for convenience. BLS publishes the yearly and hourly figures.
BLS publishes only yearly pay for this occupation, because many of these workers are paid by the year and work fewer than 2,080 hours in it.
How it compares
The median for all occupations in the United States was $50,980 a year. The median for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is $72,040, which is 41% higher. Among the 64 occupations of the field Educational Instruction and Library, it ranks number 40 by median pay. With 1,065,210 jobs, it makes up about 69 of every 10,000 jobs in the country.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education pay by state
The highest median pay was in Washington ($102,670), California ($101,370) and New York ($97,070). The lowest was in Oklahoma ($48,710), Mississippi ($50,980) and South Dakota ($51,050). The most jobs were in Texas (111,660), California (99,230) and New York (70,660). The occupation is most concentrated in Virgin Islands, where its share of all jobs is 1.7 times the national share.
No state matches.
| State | Jobs | Median a year | Average a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 14,880 | $102,670 | $99,350 |
| California | 99,230 | $101,370 | $105,880 |
| New York | 70,660 | $97,070 | $97,220 |
| Massachusetts | 28,460 | $95,260 | $90,270 |
| Rhode Island | 4,910 | $92,610 | $84,120 |
| District of Columbia | 2,800 | $82,750 | $88,460 |
| New Jersey | 38,140 | $82,200 | $87,100 |
| Connecticut | 14,800 | $80,970 | $84,460 |
| Illinois | 44,670 | $79,990 | $89,320 |
| Alaska | 2,790 | $79,650 | $82,460 |
| Oregon | 11,730 | $79,570 | $79,050 |
| Ohio | 49,540 | $78,800 | $78,110 |
| Pennsylvania | 52,240 | $78,800 | $77,650 |
| Maryland | 16,640 | $78,670 | $79,820 |
| Delaware | 5,360 | $77,960 | $74,240 |
| New Hampshire | 5,860 | $77,060 | $72,040 |
| Minnesota | 16,020 | $76,460 | $80,020 |
| Utah | 11,030 | $76,330 | $75,460 |
| Vermont | 2,450 | $76,220 | $72,350 |
| New Mexico | 8,120 | $75,900 | $72,920 |
| Georgia | 25,730 | $75,480 | $72,000 |
| Hawaii | 5,590 | $74,310 | $73,230 |
| Colorado | 18,310 | $72,900 | $73,330 |
| Virginia | 31,100 | $72,170 | $75,060 |
| Michigan | 25,540 | $66,030 | $71,200 |
| Nevada | 8,920 | $65,520 | $68,570 |
| Maine | 5,540 | $64,880 | $66,820 |
| Texas | 111,660 | $63,590 | $65,740 |
| Nebraska | 7,170 | $63,450 | $65,520 |
| Wisconsin | 15,910 | $62,870 | $66,880 |
| Guam | 680 | $62,860 | $61,480 |
| Wyoming | 1,600 | $62,690 | $66,020 |
| South Carolina | 16,080 | $62,580 | $65,340 |
| Alabama | 15,880 | $61,990 | $62,280 |
| Indiana | 20,430 | $61,880 | $67,640 |
| Tennessee | 21,230 | $61,860 | $62,950 |
| Idaho | 6,570 | $61,690 | $66,470 |
| Kentucky | 12,780 | $61,560 | $63,450 |
| North Dakota | 3,070 | $61,210 | $61,830 |
| Iowa | 12,310 | $61,200 | $61,860 |
| Montana | 3,670 | $60,990 | $61,550 |
| Florida | 49,810 | $60,410 | $61,570 |
| Kansas | 10,860 | $59,920 | $58,930 |
| Louisiana | 15,210 | $59,850 | $61,170 |
| Arkansas | 12,890 | $59,660 | $59,710 |
| Virgin Islands | 380 | $59,520 | $59,300 |
| Missouri | 24,380 | $59,240 | $60,310 |
| Puerto Rico | 5,640 | $59,100 | $55,030 |
| Arizona | 21,190 | $58,360 | $64,440 |
| North Carolina | 28,620 | $57,650 | $55,760 |
| West Virginia | 3,590 | $56,610 | $56,630 |
| South Dakota | 3,360 | $51,050 | $53,960 |
| Mississippi | 10,400 | $50,980 | $53,690 |
| Oklahoma | 15,480 | $48,710 | $54,950 |
Sorted by median pay, highest first. "Not published" means BLS did not release that figure for the state, usually because too few employers were surveyed. "$239,200 or more" is the highest value BLS reports in the state tables.
Similar occupations by pay
- Education Teachers, Postsecondary$75,350 a year
- Special Education Teachers, Secondary School$74,260 a year
- Social Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, All Other$72,990 a year
- Librarians and Media Collections Specialists$68,270 a year
- Special Education Teachers, Middle School$66,810 a year
- Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School$66,270 a year
Common questions
How much do Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education earn in the United States?
The median pay was $72,040 a year in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $48,780 and the highest-paid 10% more than $107,600.
How many people work as Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education?
About 1,065,210 jobs in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Checked in November 2026. Figures are for employees, before tax, and leave out overtime pay and benefits. They are official statistics, not advice or a pay offer; see bls.gov/oes for the original tables.