How much do high school teachers make?

High School Teacher salary 2026 · BLS occupation: Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education (SOC 25-2031) · Updated October 28, 2026

Answer

High school teachers in the US earned a median of $72,040 a year in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned $59,980 to $92,570.

Median annual pay: $72,040; Mean $76,320
Median hourly pay: Annual only; BLS publishes annual pay only for this occupation
Typical range (10th–90th): $48.8K–$108K; $48,780 to $107,600
US jobs: 1,065,210; −0.2% projected, 2025–35

BLS OEWS, May 2025, released April 30, 2026. Wages include tips, commissions and production bonuses but not overtime premiums, shift differentials, other bonuses or benefits; self-employed workers are not included. Methodology

How to become a high school teacher: steps, years and cost · Best-paying state after cost of living: Washington

High School Teacher pay range

Annual wages, May 2025

10th percentile$48,780
25th percentile$59,980
Median$72,040
75th percentile$92,570
90th percentile$107,600

Half of all high school teachers earned more than $72,040 and half earned less. The lowest-paid 10% made under $48,780; the top 10% made over $107,600. The middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile, ran from $59,980 to $92,570.

These percentiles describe everyone in the occupation at one time. They are not pay steps by years of experience: they mix new and senior workers, different states, employers and hours. Pay generally rises with experience, credentials and specialization, but BLS does not publish pay by experience.

Percentile	Annual	Hourly	Monthly
10th	$48,780	—	$4,065
25th	$59,980	—	$4,998
Median (50th)	$72,040	—	$6,003
75th	$92,570	—	$7,714
90th	$107,600	—	$8,967
Mean (average)	$76,320	—	$6,360

High School Teacher salary by state

Median annual pay; cost of living from BEA regional price parities 2024

Median annual pay for high school teachers by state. Darker tiles pay more.

Highest-paying states

1. Washington $102,670
2. California $101,370
3. New York $97,070
4. Massachusetts $95,260
5. Rhode Island $92,610

Lowest-paying states

51. Oklahoma $48,710
50. Mississippi $50,980
49. South Dakota $51,050
48. West Virginia $56,610
47. North Carolina $57,650

Best after cost of living: Washington. Its median of $102,670 is worth about $95,942 at national-average prices.


Alabama	$61,990	33	$69,790	25	—	15,880	7.51
Alaska	$79,650	10	$77,814	13	—	2,790	8.57
Arizona	$58,360	46	$57,968	49	—	21,190	6.54
Arkansas	$59,660	44	$68,624	29	—	12,890	9.89
California	$101,370	2	$91,555	2	—	99,230	5.45
Colorado	$72,900	23	$70,741	23	—	18,310	6.37
Connecticut	$80,970	8	$78,149	11	—	14,800	8.73
Delaware	$77,960	15	$78,110	12	—	5,360	11.06
District of Columbia	$82,750	6	$75,295	19	—	2,800	3.99
Florida	$60,410	41	$58,416	48	—	49,810	5.02
Georgia	$75,480	21	$78,386	10	—	25,730	5.26
Hawaii	$74,310	22	$67,585	33	—	5,590	8.90
Idaho	$61,690	36	$64,601	43	—	6,570	7.67
Illinois	$79,990	9	$80,024	9	—	44,670	7.33
Indiana	$61,880	34	$66,303	39	—	20,430	6.38
Iowa	$61,200	39	$69,734	26	—	12,310	7.90
Kansas	$59,920	42	$66,528	38	—	10,860	7.55
Kentucky	$61,560	37	$68,279	30	—	12,780	6.39
Louisiana	$59,850	43	$67,852	31	—	15,210	7.86
Maine	$64,880	27	$66,852	35	—	5,540	8.66
Maryland	$78,670	14	$74,953	20	—	16,640	6.02
Massachusetts	$95,260	4	$90,074	4	—	28,460	7.82
Michigan	$66,030	25	$68,626	28	—	25,540	5.80
Minnesota	$76,460	17	$77,529	15	—	16,020	5.43
Mississippi	$50,980	50	$58,629	47	—	10,400	8.94
Missouri	$59,240	45	$65,230	42	—	24,380	8.30
Montana	$60,990	40	$64,441	44	—	3,670	7.17
Nebraska	$63,450	29	$70,419	24	—	7,170	7.00
Nevada	$65,520	26	$65,534	40	—	8,920	5.75
New Hampshire	$77,060	16	$73,979	21	—	5,860	8.58
New Jersey	$82,200	7	$75,548	18	—	38,140	8.90
New Mexico	$75,900	20	$82,310	7	—	8,120	9.32
New York	$97,070	3	$89,945	5	—	70,660	7.29
North Carolina	$57,650	47	$61,118	46	—	28,620	5.79
North Dakota	$61,210	38	$68,807	27	—	3,070	7.16
Ohio	$78,800	12	$84,938	6	—	49,540	8.93
Oklahoma	$48,710	51	$55,451	51	—	15,480	9.06
Oregon	$79,570	11	$76,983	17	—	11,730	5.96
Pennsylvania	$78,800	13	$80,761	8	—	52,240	8.61
Rhode Island	$92,610	5	$90,546	3	—	4,910	9.80
South Carolina	$62,580	32	$66,753	37	—	16,080	6.98
South Dakota	$51,050	49	$57,628	50	—	3,360	7.34
Tennessee	$61,860	35	$67,334	34	—	21,230	6.47
Texas	$63,590	28	$65,518	41	—	111,660	7.94
Utah	$76,330	18	$77,207	16	—	11,030	6.36
Vermont	$76,220	19	$77,809	14	—	2,450	8.06
Virginia	$72,170	24	$71,382	22	—	31,100	7.57
Washington	$102,670	1	$95,942	1	—	14,880	4.19
West Virginia	$56,610	48	$63,254	45	—	3,590	5.12
Wisconsin	$62,870	30	$66,815	36	—	15,910	5.41
Wyoming	$62,690	31	$67,633	32	—	1,600	5.71

BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates. Adjusted pay = median ÷ (state price level ÷ 100), using BEA regional price parities for 2024; it ignores taxes. Figures for states with few workers in the occupation have larger survey errors and can change sharply from one year to the next. “—” means BLS did not publish the figure. State names link to each state’s highest-paying jobs.

Best-paying metro areas for high school teachers

369 metro areas with published pay

Highest median pay
Metro area	Median	Adjusted	Jobs
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$121,190	$118,300	240
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$108,850	$98,476	2,210
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$108,230	$98,014	4,130
Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA	$105,200	$101,476	490
Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$105,060	$98,491	6,040
Walla Walla, WA	$104,940	$106,518	120
Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$104,180	$98,649	420
Longview-Kelso, WA	$104,110	$106,730	200
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$102,880	$88,987	11,520
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$102,840	$94,524	1,060

Most jobs
Metro area	Jobs	Median	Adjusted
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	75,780	$100,800	$89,550
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	32,790	$98,970	$95,535
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	32,250	$100,960	$88,900
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	28,000	$65,890	$63,915
Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	26,260	$65,540	$66,451
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	25,460	$80,560	$78,554
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	20,600	$98,850	$91,303
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	20,400	$80,300	$73,748
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	14,830	$77,210	$77,165
Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	14,730	$59,570	$57,658

BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas; adjusted with BEA metro price parities (2024).

What moves high school teacher pay: employers and settings

Most high school teachers are paid on a district salary schedule: a grid in which pay rises with each year of service (steps) and with more education, such as a master's degree or credits beyond it (lanes). That makes the district you work for, and its union contract where there is one, the biggest factor. Extra pay comes from coaching, club advising, summer school and department chair roles.

Public schools pay more than private ones. Local government, which covers public school districts, pays a median of $74,190 while private employers pay $61,760. The small group working for state government outside regular schools earns $103,520.

State makes a large difference. Washington has the highest median at $102,670, followed by California at $101,370, New York at $97,070, Massachusetts at $95,260, and Rhode Island at $92,610. Washington stays first after cost of living at $95,942. The lowest medians are in South Dakota at $51,050, Mississippi at $50,980, and Oklahoma at $48,710.

Across the country, the 10th percentile earns $48,780, the median $72,040, and the 90th percentile $107,600, a level only one in ten exceeds. Pay is reported as an annual figure because teachers work a school year rather than a standard hourly schedule.

Where high school teachers work
Industry	Share of jobs	Median pay
Elementary and Secondary Schools	99%	$72,340
Educational Support Services	0.2%	$59,530
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	0.2%	$63,000
Local Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals	0.1%	$72,240
Other Schools and Instruction	0.1%	$52,920
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals	0.1%	$103,520

Private employers and government
Employer type	Jobs	Median pay
Private employers	154,530	$61,760
State government (incl. schools and hospitals)	9,250	$74,770
Local government (incl. schools and hospitals)	901,420	$74,190

BLS OEWS, May 2025, national industry-specific and ownership estimates (4-digit NAICS).

High School Teacher pay over time

Median annual pay, 2015–2025

$72.0K $57.2K

2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025

Nominal median (dollars of each year)In May 2025 dollars (adjusted with CPI-U)

The median rose from $57,200 in 2015 to $72,040 in 2025, up 26% in nominal dollars. After inflation, the 2015 median is worth $77,323 in May 2025 dollars, so real pay fell 7% over the period.

BLS OEWS, May 2025 and earlier May releases; inflation from the CPI-U, US city average, May of each year.

What high school teachers do

A high school teacher, or secondary school teacher, teaches one academic subject, such as algebra, chemistry, English, U.S. history, Spanish or art, to students in grades 9 through 12. Most teach five or six class periods a day, often with two or three different courses to prepare, and see well over a hundred students a week.

The job runs on a cycle of planning, teaching and grading. Teachers turn state standards and the district curriculum into daily lessons, labs, essays and tests, then grade the work and post marks to an online gradebook. They manage behavior, adjust lessons for students with disabilities and English learners, and prepare classes for state tests, Advanced Placement or dual-credit exams. Outside class they meet with parents, special education staff and counselors, attend department and staff meetings, and often coach a sport or advise a club for a stipend.

About 85% work in public schools run by local districts. The rest teach in private and religious schools and a small number of state-run schools. Grading and planning regularly spill into evenings and weekends.

A typical day

Teach the same subject to several class periods, adjusting the pace for each group
Plan lessons, labs and units that match state standards and the district curriculum
Grade essays, problem sets and tests and post marks to the online gradebook
Keep order in the room and follow up on absences, phones and missing work
Modify assignments for students with IEPs, 504 plans or limited English
Email and meet with parents, counselors and special education staff
Supervise hallways and lunch, or coach a team or advise a club after school

Also called: secondary school teacher, art teacher, english teacher, math teacher (mathematics teacher), music teacher, pe teacher (physical education teacher), science teacher, secondary teacher.

How to become a high school teacher

Full guide

To become a high school teacher you need a bachelor's degree, a state-approved teacher preparation program with student teaching, and passing scores on your state's licensing exams, usually 4 to 5 years in total. Career changers who already hold a degree can use an alternative certification program and often start teaching within a year.

Typical time: 4 to 5 years; Fastest: 1 year (with an existing bachelor's degree)
Minimum education: Bachelor's degree, plus a state-approved teacher preparation program for a public school license
License: Required in all 50 states for public school teachers; private schools usually do not require a state license
Typical training cost: $40.9K–$41.2K; See the guide for what it includes

Read the step-by-step guide to becoming a high school teacher: each step with its time and cost, education options, exams, licensing and advancement.

Is it worth it? Training cost against pay

Compare careers

Training time: 4 to 5 years; Typical path in our guide
Training cost: $40.9K–$41.2K; Tuition and exam fees, before aid
Median pay: $72,040; $21,060 above the all-jobs median ($50,980)
Cost vs. one year's pay: 57–57%; Training cost as a share of a year at the median

Once qualified, the pay difference over the typical US job at the median ($21,060 a year before tax) would repay the training cost in about 1.9–2.0 years after training ends (4 to 5 years in our guide). This is a rough guide: it ignores taxes, financial aid, interest, earnings given up while training and how pay changes over a career. How we calculate ROI.

Job outlook for high school teachers

BLS Employment Projections 2025–35

Projected growth: −0.2%; All occupations +3.5%
Jobs in 2025: 1,087,500; 1,085,000 projected for 2035
Openings each year: 63,500; New jobs plus replacements
Self-employed: 0.1%; Not in the pay figures above

BLS expects the number of high school teachers to stay about flat, edging down 0.2% from 1,087,500 in 2025 to 1,085,000 in 2035, while all occupations grow 3.5%. Fewer school-age children and falling enrollment hold down demand, and hiring also depends on state and local budgets.

The flat total still means about 63,500 openings a year, because so many teachers retire or leave the profession. Demand differs a great deal by district and subject: growing suburbs and districts that struggle to keep staff hire every year, while shrinking districts may cut positions.

Related careers and their pay

Elementary School Teacher$63,970
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education$64,370
Tutors$43,350
Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors$61,540
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School$74,260

Related occupations from O*NET 31.0; median annual pay from BLS OEWS, May 2025.

High School Teacher salary FAQ

Which state pays high school teachers the most?

Washington has the highest median pay for high school teachers, $102,670 a year, followed by California ($101,370) and New York ($97,070). After adjusting for each state's price level, Washington comes out ahead at about $95,942 in national-average dollars.

Do high school teachers make six figures?

Some do: based on the BLS percentiles, between 10% and 25% of high school teachers earn more than $100,000 a year. The median is $72,040, and the top 10% earn more than $107,600. Pay generally rises with experience, specialization and location.

What do high school teachers make when they start?

BLS does not publish pay by years of experience. The lowest-paid 10% of high school teachers earn less than $48,780 a year and the lowest-paid quarter less than $59,980. New workers are often in the lower part of the range, but percentiles also reflect location, employer and hours, not only experience.

Do high school teachers get paid in the summer?

Teachers are paid for the school-year contract, not for summer break. Many districts let teachers spread that salary across 12 months so paychecks continue in July and August, while others pay over the school year only. Teachers can add income by teaching summer school, running camps or doing curriculum work. The annual pay figures on this page cover the contract year.

Do public or private high school teachers earn more?

Public school teachers generally earn more. Local government, which covers public school districts, pays a median of $74,190 compared with $61,760 for private employers such as private and religious schools. Private schools often do not require a state teaching license and may offer smaller classes, but their pay is usually lower than in public districts.

Does a master's degree raise a teacher's salary?

In most public districts, yes. Salary schedules have separate columns, or lanes, for a bachelor's degree, a master's, and credits beyond the master's, so moving over a lane raises pay every year after that. The size of the bump varies by district, so check the local salary schedule, which public districts post online. Some states also require teachers to earn a master's degree after they start teaching.

Sources

Data updated October 28, 2026 · Text checked against its sources October 28, 2026

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 estimates, released April 30, 2026, SOC 25-2031
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035, released September 2026
O*NET 31.0 Database (25-2031.00), U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0; tasks rewritten by Careers and Salaries
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, 2024
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), US city average, May values
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard field-of-study and institution data, most recent cohorts, released 2026-10-15
High School Teachers, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · checked October 28, 2026
License Finder, CareerOneStop, U.S. Department of Labor · checked October 28, 2026
Core Combined (5752), ETS Praxis · checked October 28, 2026
Mathematics (5165), ETS Praxis · checked October 28, 2026
Principles of Learning and Teaching (PLT): Grades 7-12 (5624), ETS Praxis · checked October 28, 2026
Becoming a Classroom Teacher in Texas, Texas Education Agency · checked October 28, 2026
Single Subject Teaching Credential Requirements for Teachers Prepared in California (CL-560C), California Commission on Teacher Credentialing · checked October 28, 2026
Verifying Subject-Matter Competence by Examination (CL-674S), California Commission on Teacher Credentialing · checked October 28, 2026

Careers and Salaries is not affiliated with the Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Found an error? Tell us; corrections are listed on the editorial policy page.