Education salaries

Education careers cover teachers, professors, librarians, and instructional staff across every level from preschool to graduate school.

Below are all 59 education occupations the BLS tracks, ranked by median annual pay for May 2025. The best paid, law teachers, postsecondary, earns a median of $128,500 a year.

#	Job	Median annual	Hourly	Typical education	Employed
1	Law Teachers, Postsecondary	$128,500	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	20,060
2	Economics Teachers, Postsecondary	$123,920	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	11,560
3	Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary	$109,270	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	40,270
4	Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary	$107,310	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	221,270
5	Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary	$103,170	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	9,900
6	Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$101,420	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	1,520
7	Physics Teachers, Postsecondary	$100,310	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	13,090
8	Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary	$99,650	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	5,240
9	Business Teachers, Postsecondary	$99,080	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	82,150
10	Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary	$98,700	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	8,920
11	Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$98,070	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	16,970
12	Geography Teachers, Postsecondary	$97,590	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	3,330
13	Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$96,980	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	35,480
14	Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary	$96,870	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	7,700
15	Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$94,980	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	6,690
16	Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary	$93,250	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	19,980
17	Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary	$85,020	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	11,300
18	Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$84,620	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	50,190
19	Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary	$84,290	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	11,850
20	History Teachers, Postsecondary	$83,820	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	18,790
21	Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary	$80,340	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	41,530
22	Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$80,340	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	3,630
23	Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary	$80,260	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	20,460
24	Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary	$80,250	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	77,960
25	Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary	$79,940	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	47,670
26	Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary	$79,350	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	19,830
27	English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary	$78,760	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	57,720
28	Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary	$78,620	Salaried	Master's degree	93,560
29	Communications Teachers, Postsecondary	$78,580	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	29,420
30	Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary	$77,570	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	12,610
31	Instructional Coordinators	$77,440	$37.23	Master's degree	227,760
32	Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary	$77,270	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	12,630
33	Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary	$76,590	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	13,150
34	Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary	$75,870	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	2,770
35	Education Teachers, Postsecondary	$75,350	Salaried	Doctoral or professional degree	60,830
36	Special Education Teachers, Secondary School	$74,260	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	163,930
37	Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	$72,040	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	1,065,210
38	Librarians and Media Collections Specialists	$68,270	$32.82	Master's degree	133,790
39	Special Education Teachers, Middle School	$66,810	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	95,200
40	Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School	$66,270	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	111,420
41	Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	$65,120	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	260,870
42	Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School	$65,030	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	16,870
43	Special Education Teachers, Preschool	$64,830	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	29,510
44	Archivists	$64,550	$31.03	Master's degree	7,970
45	Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education	$64,370	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	620,090
46	Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education	$63,970	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	1,388,390
47	Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary	$63,820	$30.68	Bachelor's degree	114,110
48	Curators	$63,420	$30.49	Master's degree	12,150
49	Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education	$62,680	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	108,870
50	Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors	$61,540	$29.59	Bachelor's degree	37,310
51	Farm and Home Management Educators	$60,220	$28.95	Master's degree	8,220
52	Museum Technicians and Conservators	$51,440	$24.73	Bachelor's degree	12,310
53	Self-Enrichment Teachers	$46,800	$22.50	High school diploma or equivalent	332,110
54	Library Technicians	$44,580	$21.43	Postsecondary nondegree award	68,690
55	Tutors	$43,350	$20.84	Some college, no degree	175,070
56	Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary	$42,910	Salaried	Bachelor's degree	164,090
57	Substitute Teachers, Short-Term	$41,670	$20.03	Bachelor's degree	524,770
58	Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education	$38,140	$18.34	Associate's degree	478,780
59	Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary	$36,780	Salaried	Some college, no degree	1,420,350

Ranked by median annual wage. National estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, May 2025.

Education salary FAQ

What is the highest paying education job?

Law Teachers, Postsecondary top the education field at a median of $128,500 a year, based on BLS data for May 2025.

How much do education jobs pay on average?

Pay varies widely across the 59 occupations in this field. The middle of the list, social work teachers, postsecondary, sits at a median of $77,570 a year. The overall U.S. median across all jobs is $50,980.

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Source. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Figures shown as published, last updated 2026-05-15.