Elementary and Middle School Teachers salary in the US
Here is where pay for elementary and middle school teachers stands nationally, built from Census microdata rather than job-board postings.
How much do elementary and middle school teachers earn?
Across the country, the midpoint of annual earnings for elementary and middle school teachers is $59,211 — 13% more than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. Of the 171 occupation groups we compare, 79 have a higher median and 91 have a lower one. Behind these numbers are 157,994 survey records — a large enough sample to break the results down further below.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $100,825 |
| Top 25% start at | $77,561 |
| Median (top 50%) | $59,211 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $39,880 |
How wide is the pay range?
A worker earning $77,561 would already be in the top quarter of elementary and middle school teachers; the top 10% begins around $100,825, 1.7 times the midpoint. The bottom quarter earned under $39,880; that group includes people who worked part of the year or reduced hours, since every earner is counted. Put differently, the middle earner makes 1.5× what someone at the 25th percentile does.
Earnings by age
Mid-career workers out-earn new entrants, but not dramatically — the median goes from $52,474 (25–34) to $67,166 (45–54). After the peak, the 65+ group's median falls to $17,875 (73% lower), largely because more older workers cut back their hours.
Men and women
By sex, the medians are $63,680 (men) and $57,721 (women) — a 9% difference. In the raw sample, roughly 81 in 100 workers in this job are women. Differences in hours, specialty and seniority account for part of any gap, which the survey doesn't separate out.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $63,680 | 29,911 |
| Women | $57,721 | 128,083 |
Does education change the pay?
Within the same job title, a doctorate goes with a $70,314 median, versus $24,366 for some college or an associate degree — a 189% difference. 74,847 of the records belong to people with a master's degree, the biggest single group; we suppress levels with fewer than 100.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | Not shown (<100 records) | 9 |
| Some college / associate | $24,366 | 8,105 |
| Bachelor's | $52,474 | 67,777 |
| Master's | $68,216 | 74,847 |
| Professional degree | $68,216 | 4,947 |
| Doctorate | $70,314 | 2,309 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
Most of the sample comes from California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois, the five states where this occupation is most common in the data. Pay differs noticeably even across these five: $79,431 in New York versus $52,508 in Florida. No cost-of-living adjustment is applied. In all, 51 states clear the 100-record bar for a state-level median.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $73,321 | 15,956 |
| Texas | $60,855 | 15,460 |
| New York | $79,431 | 11,255 |
| Florida | $52,508 | 8,583 |
| Illinois | $61,446 | 6,167 |
Occupations with similar pay
Nearby on the pay scale are real estate agents and brokers ($59,662), social workers, all other ($58,094), insurance sales agents ($57,869), and plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters ($57,721). Similar pay doesn't mean similar work — training, hours and risk differ — but it's a useful reference when weighing a move.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Real Estate Agents and Brokers | $59,662 | +1% |
| Social Workers, All Other | $58,094 | −2% |
| Insurance Sales Agents | $57,869 | −2% |
| Plumbers, Pipefitters, And Steamfitters | $57,721 | −3% |
| Machinists | $57,721 | −3% |
About these figures
A note on definitions: figures cover everyone 25+ with earnings in this occupation over 2020–2024, inflation-adjusted to 2024, full-time or not. Medians are weighted to the US population; suppressed cells are those under 100 records. The occupation total is 157,994 records.
See where your pay ranks among elementary and middle school teachers
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Open the calculatorSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.