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Education, training, and library occupations in May 2015

September 02, 2016

In May 2015, there were about 1.4 million elementary school teachers, excluding special education—the largest occupation among teachers. These teachers had an average annual wage of $57,730. Excluding special and career/technical education, there were 963,000 secondary school teachers and 633,000 middle school teachers. Secondary school teachers earned an average annual wage of $60,440 and middle school teachers earned $58,760.

Employment and average annual wages of selected education, training, and library occupations, May 2015
Occupation Employment Annual mean wage

Elementary school teachers, except special education

1,381,430 $57,730

Teacher assistants

1,228,440 $26,550

Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education

962,820 $60,440

Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education

632,760 $58,760

Substitute teachers

626,750 $29,630

Preschool teachers, except special education

370,190 $32,500

Self-enrichment education teachers

217,530 $42,350

Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school

195,780 $58,640

Health specialties teachers, postsecondary

178,900 $114,510

Kindergarten teachers, except special education

158,150 $54,510

Instructional coordinators

139,460 $64,870

Librarians

131,550 $58,930

Special education teachers, secondary school

129,770 $62,180

Graduate teaching assistants

125,100 $32,510

Vocational education teachers, postsecondary

119,800 $54,260

Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary

98,310 $76,710

Library technicians

94,170 $34,200

Special education teachers, middle school

91,050 $60,300

Business teachers, postsecondary

84,890 $92,220

Career/technical education teachers, secondary school

77,430 $58,170

English language and literature teachers, postsecondary

75,730 $71,210

Adult basic and secondary education and literacy teachers and instructors

65,110 $54,060

Education teachers, postsecondary

60,260 $68,200

Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary

57,390 $73,150

Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary

53,850 $77,290

Biological science teachers, postsecondary

51,640 $86,830

Psychology teachers, postsecondary

38,380 $79,370

Engineering teachers, postsecondary

37,270 $104,220

Computer science teachers, postsecondary

33,760 $84,700

Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary

30,120 $69,520

Special education teachers, preschool

29,230 $58,210

Communications teachers, postsecondary

29,050 $70,290

Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary

23,820 $75,140

History teachers, postsecondary

23,680 $76,670

Chemistry teachers, postsecondary

21,460 $86,070

Recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary

17,980 $66,090

Political science teachers, postsecondary

17,460 $88,680

Law teachers, postsecondary

16,430 $126,230

Sociology teachers, postsecondary

16,160 $76,750

Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers, postsecondary

14,560 $64,460

Physics teachers, postsecondary

14,310 $93,950

Economics teachers, postsecondary

13,580 $106,980

Career/technical education teachers, middle school

13,090 $58,480

Curators

11,870 $56,990

Social work teachers, postsecondary

11,740 $69,030

Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space sciences teachers, postsecondary

10,890 $92,540

Museum technicians and conservators

10,750 $44,880

Audio-visual and multimedia collections specialists

10,170 $48,220

Agricultural sciences teachers, postsecondary

9,680 $95,280

Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary

9,240 $81,700

Farm and home management advisors

8,760 $51,820

Architecture teachers, postsecondary

7,340 $84,880

Anthropology and archeology teachers, postsecondary

6,000 $85,440

Environmental science teachers, postsecondary

5,540 $88,570

Archivists

5,460 $53,880

Library science teachers, postsecondary

4,910 $73,030

Geography teachers, postsecondary

4,350 $79,690

Home economics teachers, postsecondary

3,650 $69,090

Forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary

1,660 $91,030

Among special education teachers in preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary schools, those in kindergarten and elementary schools were the largest occupation with 196,000 teachers. Special education teachers in secondary schools earned an annual average wage of $62,180, highest among special education teachers.

These data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics program. To learn more, see Education, Training, and Library Occupation Profiles.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Education, training, and library occupations in May 2015 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/education-training-and-library-occupations-in-may-2015.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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