How Much Do Teachers Make?

Having a clear understanding of earnings potential is important, especially if you are researching career paths or considering changing jobs. If you're one of those people, and you're curious what kind of salary teachers make, you've come to the right place.

Using data from Lightcast,™ the Best Adult Colleges and Careers Guide has compiled rich information about salary for teachers and related jobs, including details about average compensation, salary trends and job growth. We've also gathered advertised salaries from actual job postings to provide insight into what employers of teachers are offering as compensation.

Keep reading to learn more about how much teachers can expect to make in the United States.

At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Teachers

According to data from 2023, there were about 307,083 positions for teachers in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for teachers was reported to be $103,460. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 73,068 job postings related to positions for teachers.

How Much Money Do Teachers Make?

Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money teachers and related positions can expect to make in the United States, it can be helpful to look at the full range of compensation for those jobs.

Let's look more deeply at data that was reported to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for detail into the lowest and highest salary earnings for teachers.

Annual Salary for Teachers

According to the BLS, the lowest earners for teachers and related professions earned about $70,050 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $163,010 annually.

As mentioned previously, the median salary for teachers in the United States in 2023 was $103,460.

Hourly Salary for Teachers

The BLS also breaks down compensation for teachers by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for teachers in 2023 was $50. Lowest hourly earners took home $34 while the highest reported hourly salaries for teachers was $78.

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Degree Options for Teachers

Advertised Compensation for Teachers

Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for teachers, but another way to build a more real-time understanding of salary is to look at actual job postings and see what compensation organizations are currently providing to fill open positions for teachers.

Keep in mind that salary data is not included in every job posting, so the information compiled here is reflective of the data available through Lightcast.™

Annual Salary from Job Postings for Teachers

During a review of 81,657 job postings related to teachers, advertised salary was included in 25,327 of them, which was 31%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for teachers was $79,232 per year.

Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Teachers

A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for teachers. Based on 35% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for teachers in the United States is about $38.

Salary Trend for Teachers

If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for teachers. The chart below provides a snapshot of advertised salaries over the past three years.

Based on compensation data that was included in job postings for teachers dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for teachers have increased 13%.

What's the Job Growth for Teachers?

Another data point that someone thinking about a career path should consider is whether or not jobs are expected to see growth in the future. The chart below looks at projected employment for teachers over the next 10 years.

According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 307,397 jobs for teachers in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 16,710 jobs will be added. That's a 5.4% increase over the next 10-year period.

Additional Links

Ready to dig deeper into career information about teachers? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for teachers.

What do teachers do?
Teachers: How do you become one?

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