Teaching Assistants salary in the US
Here is where pay for teaching assistants stands nationally, built from Census microdata rather than job-board postings.
How much do teaching assistants earn?
Across the country, the midpoint of annual earnings for teaching assistants is $24,366 — 54% less than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. It places 161st of 171 on median earnings — part of the bottom quarter, where part-time schedules are common. The sample is 65,739 people aged 25 or older who listed this job and had earnings during the year.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $52,793 |
| Top 25% start at | $35,534 |
| Median (top 50%) | $24,366 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $15,229 |
How wide is the pay range?
There is meaningful room above the median: $35,534 marks the top quarter and $52,793 the top tenth (2.2× the median). At the other end, a quarter of teaching assistants earned $15,229 or less, which partly reflects part-time and part-year work — the survey counts everyone with earnings, not only full-time staff. That leaves a 1.6-to-1 ratio between the median and the 25th percentile.
Earnings by age
Seniority keeps paying off: the median reaches its high point of $25,187 only in the 55–64 band, up 1% from age 25–34. Among those 65 and older who still work, the median is $20,109, 20% below the peak — reduced schedules explain much of that.
Men and women
There is a 22% gap at the median: $30,015 for men and $23,351 for women. About 86% of the sampled workers are women, going by raw survey counts. 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 | $30,015 | 9,244 |
| Women | $23,351 | 56,495 |
Does education change the pay?
Credentials make a large difference. Workers with a doctorate have a median of $39,086, 68% more than those with some college or an associate degree ($23,218). Most workers surveyed in this job have some college or an associate degree (23,420 records); any level under 100 records is blank in the table.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $24,366 | 20,241 |
| Some college / associate | $23,218 | 23,420 |
| Bachelor's | $24,440 | 15,284 |
| Master's | $26,237 | 5,700 |
| Professional degree | $25,732 | 435 |
| Doctorate | $39,086 | 659 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
The five states with the most teaching assistants in the survey are California, New York, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey. Pay differs noticeably even across these five: $29,047 in New York versus $23,651 in Texas. 51 states have 100+ records for this job; elsewhere the sample is too small to publish, and none of the figures adjust for local prices.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $26,237 | 7,216 |
| New York | $29,047 | 6,389 |
| Texas | $23,651 | 4,862 |
| Illinois | $25,662 | 2,902 |
| New Jersey | $28,106 | 2,703 |
Occupations with similar pay
Occupations with a median close to $24,366 include cooks ($24,366), manicurists and pedicurists ($24,440), personal care aides ($24,461), and waiters and waitresses ($23,865). They aren't interchangeable careers, though the middle of the pay distribution is close.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Cooks | $24,366 | 0% |
| Manicurists And Pedicurists | $24,440 | 0% |
| Personal Care Aides | $24,461 | 0% |
| Waiters and Waitresses | $23,865 | −2% |
| Home Health Aides | $23,388 | −4% |
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 65,739 records.
See where your pay ranks among teaching assistants
Opens the calculator with this occupation already selected. Your income stays in your browser — it's never put in the link.
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.