How Much Do Early Childhood 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 early childhood 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 early childhood 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 early childhood teachers are offering as compensation.
Keep reading to learn more about how much early childhood teachers can expect to make in the United States.
At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Early Childhood Teachers
According to data from 2023, there were about 50,578 positions for early childhood teachers in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for early childhood teachers was reported to be $67,190. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 127,135 job postings related to positions for early childhood teachers.
How Much Money Do Early Childhood Teachers Make?
Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money early childhood 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 early childhood teachers.
Annual Salary for Early Childhood Teachers
According to the BLS, the lowest earners for early childhood teachers and related professions earned about $43,530 per year in 2023. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $114,360 annually.
As mentioned previously, the median salary for early childhood teachers in the United States in 2023 was $67,190.
Annual Salary Range For Early Childhood Teachers In 2023
Hourly Salary for Early Childhood Teachers
The BLS also breaks down compensation for early childhood teachers by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for early childhood teachers in 2023 was $32. Lowest hourly earners took home $21 while the highest reported hourly salaries for early childhood teachers was $55.
Hourly Salary Range For Early Childhood Teachers In 2023
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Advertised Compensation for Early Childhood Teachers
Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for early childhood 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 early childhood 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 Early Childhood Teachers
Advertised Annual Salary
During a review of 96,850 job postings related to early childhood teachers, advertised salary was included in 30,910 of them, which was 32%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for early childhood teachers was $59,008 per year.
Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Early Childhood Teachers
Advertised Hourly Salary
A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for early childhood teachers. Based on 24% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for early childhood teachers in the United States is about $28.
Salary Trend for Early Childhood Teachers
If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for early childhood 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 early childhood teachers dating back to September 2020, advertised salaries for early childhood teachers have increased 31%.
Advertised Wage Trend For Early Childhood Teachers
What's the Job Growth for Early Childhood 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 early childhood teachers over the next 10 years.
According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 50,562 jobs for early childhood teachers in the United States in 2023. By 2033, it is expected that about 4,173 jobs will be added. That's a 8.3% increase over the next 10-year period.
Employment Projections For Early Childhood Teachers
Additional Links
Ready to dig deeper into career information about early childhood teachers? Visit our other pages focused on salary and education for early childhood teachers.
What do early childhood teachers do?
Early Childhood Teachers: How do you become one?
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