Secondary School Teachers
The national median wage for secondary school teachers is $65,220 across 1.1M jobs. After cost of living, San Francisco goes furthest at $77,923, and 39 of 78 metros beat the national median once prices are counted.
What the job pays, metro to metro
Each line runs from the lowest metro to the highest. The mark is the national median.
BLS OES, latest release
78 metro areas tracked
Best value: top metros by cost-adjusted wage
Wages adjusted for local cost of living. A longer blue bar means the salary goes further there.
All metro areas
Sorted by cost-adjusted wage. Tap a column head to re-sort; metro names link to the city page where we track one.
| # | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA | CA | $88,053 | $77,923 | 7,595 | 16.9 |
| 2 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | VA | $77,908 | $77,137 | 10,707 | 17.8 |
| 3 | Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX | TX | $73,150 | $75,412 | 6,177 | 24.7 |
| 4 | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | NY | $81,245 | $75,227 | 33,557 | 25.0 |
| 5 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | PA | $73,364 | $74,861 | 12,707 | 23.1 |
| 6 | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | IL | $73,781 | $74,526 | 19,524 | 24.4 |
| 7 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $72,352 | $73,829 | 7,143 | 20.4 |
| 8 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | MI | $69,213 | $73,631 | 9,048 | 22.6 |
| 9 | Anchorage, AK | AK | $74,208 | $72,753 | 888 | 17.8 |
| 10 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $78,738 | $72,237 | 7,007 | 17.5 |
| 11 | Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | CT | $74,507 | $71,641 | 1,693 | 22.6 |
| 12 | Madison, WI | WI | $66,508 | $71,514 | 1,482 | 19.8 |
| 13 | Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | TX | $68,527 | $70,646 | 15,286 | 23.5 |
| 14 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | TX | $68,385 | $70,500 | 17,076 | 24.4 |
| 15 | Cleveland-Elyria, OH | OH | $64,720 | $70,348 | 2,537 | 16.9 |
| 16 | Kansas City, MO-KS | MO | $64,580 | $70,196 | 5,270 | 25.0 |
| 17 | Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | IA | $62,385 | $70,096 | 1,369 | 18.3 |
| 18 | Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN | IN | $64,442 | $70,046 | 4,036 | 20.2 |
| 19 | Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH | MA | $75,599 | $69,999 | 10,180 | 20.4 |
| 20 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | GA | $67,440 | $69,526 | 14,589 | 25.0 |
| 21 | Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA | NE | $62,571 | $69,523 | 2,064 | 20.6 |
| 22 | Salt Lake City, UT | UT | $65,245 | $68,679 | 3,921 | 25.0 |
| 23 | St. Louis, MO-IL | MO | $62,987 | $68,464 | 4,583 | 18.3 |
| 24 | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | NC | $64,306 | $68,411 | 4,622 | 18.5 |
| 25 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | CA | $77,113 | $68,242 | 25,764 | 25.0 |
| 26 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | OR | $71,210 | $67,819 | 6,686 | 25.0 |
| 27 | Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN | TN | $63,029 | $67,773 | 4,032 | 20.2 |
| 28 | Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ | DE | $67,072 | $67,749 | 1,146 | 22.9 |
| 29 | Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | CO | $68,425 | $67,748 | 7,183 | 23.9 |
| 30 | Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | RI | $68,329 | $67,652 | 3,475 | 23.2 |
| 31 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | KY | $60,862 | $67,624 | 2,316 | 15.4 |
| 32 | Columbus, OH | OH | $62,171 | $67,577 | 4,415 | 22.1 |
| 33 | Raleigh-Cary, NC | NC | $63,419 | $67,467 | 3,804 | 25.0 |
| 34 | Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI | WI | $62,629 | $67,343 | 2,230 | 14.9 |
| 35 | Albuquerque, NM | NM | $59,592 | $66,213 | 2,061 | 20.6 |
| 36 | Pittsburgh, PA | PA | $64,757 | $66,079 | 4,621 | 23.1 |
| 37 | Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | CT | $68,438 | $65,806 | 2,746 | 25.0 |
| 38 | Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | OH | $60,533 | $65,797 | 5,397 | 25.0 |
| 39 | Richmond, VA | VA | $66,034 | $65,380 | 3,157 | 21.1 |
| 40 | New Orleans-Metairie, LA | LA | $57,373 | $65,197 | 2,461 | 24.6 |
| 41 | Baton Rouge, LA | LA | $57,077 | $64,860 | 1,545 | 20.6 |
| 42 | Birmingham-Hoover, AL | AL | $58,351 | $64,834 | 2,267 | 22.7 |
| 43 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | FL | $66,422 | $64,487 | 10,204 | 18.6 |
| 44 | Fargo, ND-MN | ND | $57,309 | $64,392 | 829 | 20.7 |
| 45 | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | AZ | $64,951 | $64,308 | 8,462 | 18.8 |
| 46 | Oklahoma City, OK | OK | $56,299 | $63,976 | 3,962 | 25.0 |
| 47 | Sioux Falls, SD | SD | $56,070 | $63,716 | 785 | 19.6 |
| 48 | Honolulu, HI | HI | $69,212 | $63,497 | 1,847 | 24.6 |
| 49 | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | MD | $66,024 | $63,485 | 5,061 | 20.2 |
| 50 | Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV | NV | $61,304 | $63,200 | 4,548 | 22.7 |
| 51 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | CA | $70,861 | $62,709 | 7,687 | 25.0 |
| 52 | Charleston-North Charleston, SC | SC | $58,299 | $62,687 | 1,812 | 24.2 |
| 53 | Columbia, SC | SC | $58,294 | $62,682 | 1,410 | 18.8 |
| 54 | Burlington-South Burlington, VT | VT | $60,597 | $62,471 | 377 | 15.1 |
| 55 | Cheyenne, WY | WY | $56,289 | $61,856 | 408 | 25.0 |
| 56 | Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $64,922 | $61,830 | 1,132 | 22.6 |
| 57 | Boise City, ID | ID | $55,984 | $61,521 | 1,584 | 21.1 |
| 58 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | CA | $69,476 | $61,483 | 5,181 | 25.0 |
| 59 | Grand Rapids-Kentwood, MI | MI | $57,649 | $61,329 | 2,109 | 21.1 |
| 60 | Memphis, TN-MS-AR | TN | $56,864 | $61,144 | 2,000 | 20.0 |
| 61 | Knoxville, TN | TN | $56,615 | $60,876 | 2,307 | 23.1 |
| 62 | Portland-South Portland, ME | ME | $58,901 | $60,723 | 894 | 22.4 |
| 63 | Wichita, KS | KS | $54,648 | $60,720 | 1,293 | 25.0 |
| 64 | Tulsa, OK | OK | $53,119 | $60,363 | 2,046 | 20.5 |
| 65 | Billings, MT | MT | $54,291 | $60,323 | 634 | 25.0 |
| 66 | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | FL | $60,692 | $58,924 | 6,739 | 25.0 |
| 67 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC | VA | $59,297 | $58,710 | 3,966 | 25.0 |
| 68 | Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | AR | $50,854 | $58,453 | 1,589 | 21.2 |
| 69 | Jackson, MS | MS | $50,651 | $58,220 | 1,164 | 23.3 |
| 70 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | FL | $59,800 | $58,058 | 8,049 | 25.0 |
| 71 | San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | TX | $55,786 | $57,511 | 5,398 | 21.6 |
| 72 | Jacksonville, FL | FL | $58,205 | $56,510 | 3,987 | 25.0 |
| 73 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | CA | $62,407 | $55,227 | 10,308 | 25.0 |
| 74 | El Paso, TX | TX | $53,232 | $54,878 | 2,039 | 25.0 |
| 75 | Rochester, NY | NY | $58,794 | $54,439 | 1,648 | 16.5 |
| 76 | Tucson, AZ | AZ | $54,748 | $54,206 | 1,649 | 16.5 |
| 77 | Charleston, WV | WV | $48,640 | $54,044 | 374 | 15.0 |
| 78 | Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | NY | $58,258 | $53,943 | 1,960 | 19.6 |
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for Secondary School Teachers?
The national median annual wage for secondary school teachers is $65,220, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) data.
Where do secondary school teachers earn the most after adjusting for cost of living?
After adjusting for local cost of living, the top-paying metro areas for secondary school teachers are San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA ($77,923), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($77,137), Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX ($75,412).
How many metro areas have data for secondary school teachers?
We show wage and employment estimates for secondary school teachers across 78 metro areas in the United States. The national median wage is the latest BLS OES figure; individual metro values are modeled from it using local cost of living and regional labor-market patterns rather than taken from the published metro-level OES tables.