How Much Do Physical Education 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 physical education 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 physical education 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 physical education teachers are offering as compensation.

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

At a Glance: Salary & Jobs for Physical Education Teachers

According to data from 2022, there were about 149,570 positions for physical education teachers in the United States. In terms of salary, the national median salary for physical education teachers was reported to be $61,250. Additionally, when examining job demand, employers across the country posted 21,352 job postings related to positions for physical education teachers.

How Much Money Do Physical Education Teachers Make?

Median salary is just one data point. To build a better understanding of how much money physical education 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 physical education teachers.

Annual Salary for Physical Education Teachers

According to the BLS, the lowest earners for physical education teachers and related professions earned about $30,230 per year in 2022. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the highest earners made about $102,800 annually.

As mentioned previously, the median salary for physical education teachers in the United States in 2022 was $61,250.

Hourly Salary for Physical Education Teachers

The BLS also breaks down compensation for physical education teachers by hourly salary, and the median average hourly pay for physical education teachers in 2022 was $29. Lowest hourly earners took home $15 while the highest reported hourly salaries for physical education teachers was $49.

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Degree Options for Physical Education Teachers

Advertised Compensation for Physical Education Teachers

Data from the BLS is one way to dig into compensation for physical education 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 physical education 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 Physical Education Teachers

During a review of 43,553 job postings related to physical education teachers, advertised salary was included in 8,517 of them, which was 20%. Based on those postings, the median advertised salary for physical education teachers was $52,608 per year.

Hourly Salary from Job Postings for Physical Education Teachers

A similar analysis of job postings provides insight into advertised hourly salary for physical education teachers. Based on 40% of postings with advertised compensation, the median hourly salary for open positions for physical education teachers in the United States is about $25.

Salary Trend for Physical Education Teachers

If you're thinking about pursuing a career in the field, you may want to understand how compensation has changed over time for physical education 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 physical education teachers dating back to September 2019, advertised salaries for physical education teachers have increased 16%.

What's the Job Growth for Physical Education 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 physical education teachers over the next 10 years.

According to the data obtained through Lightcast,™ there were 149,584 jobs for physical education teachers in the United States in 2022. By 2032, it is expected that about 18,391 jobs will be added. That's a 12.3% increase over the next 10-year period.

Additional Links

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

What do physical education teachers do?
Physical Education Teachers: How do you become one?

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