Elementary school teachers earn a median wage of $61,760 a year.
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Public schools employ a wide variety of workers, including different kinds of teachers.
Using BLS data from May 2021, here's how much workers in 38 public school positions typically make.
We only included occupations where there were at least 25,000 people employed.
38. School bus monitors earn a median of $28,300 a year and 27,020 are employed by public schools.
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37. Institution and cafeteria cooks earn a median of $28,380 a year and 120,460 are employed by public schools.
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36. Dining room and cafeteria attendants earn a median of $28,910 a year and 26,040 are employed by public schools.
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35. Fast food and counter workers earn a median of $28,980 a year and 89,710 are employed by public schools.
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34. Teaching assistants (except postsecondary) earn a median of $29,460 a year and 923,970 are employed by public schools.
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33. Childcare workers earn a median of $29,840 a year and 76,350 are employed by public schools.
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32. Short-term substitute teachers earn a median of $30,130 a year and 314,510 are employed by public schools.
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31. Janitors and cleaners earn a median of $30,790 a year and 284,250 are employed by public schools.
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30. Protective service workers (all other) earn a median of $35,760 a year and 35,070 are employed by public schools.
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This is a catch-all category used by the BLS to designate protective service occupations that are not included in other occupational groups.
29. School bus drivers earn a median of $36,570 a year and 184,610 are employed by public schools.
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28. Office clerks earn a median of $36,630 a year and 85,740 are employed by public schools.
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27. Secretaries and administrative assistants earn a median of $37,510 a year and 198,710 are employed by public schools.
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26. Coaches and scouts earn a median of $37,630 a year and 28,990 are employed by public schools.
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25. Educational instruction and library workers (all other) earn a median of $38,040 a year and 52,000 are employed by public schools.
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This is a catch-all category used by the BLS to designate educational occupations that are not included in other occupational groups.
24. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers earn a median of $38,380 a year and 33,350 are employed by public schools.
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23. Tutors earn a median of $38,930 a year and 30,150 are employed by public schools.
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22. Security guards earn a median of $39,400 a year and 34,190 are employed by public schools.
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21. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks earn a median of $46,590 a year and 30,360 are employed by public schools.
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20. Maintenance and repair workers earn a median of $47,360 a year and 60,240 are employed by public schools.
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19. Computer user support specialists earn a median of $47,600 a year and 28,130 are employed by public schools.
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18. Preschool teachers (except special education) earn a median of $59,280 a year and 48,930 are employed by public schools.
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17. Registered nurses earn a median of $60,640 a year and 52,110 are employed by public schools.
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15 (tie). Librarians and media collections specialists earn a median of $61,640 a year and 44,350 are employed by public schools.
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15 (tie). Kindergarten teachers (except special education) earn a median of $61,640 a year and 104,540 are employed by public schools.
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14. Middle school teachers (except special and career/technical education) earn a median of $61,680 a year and 524,580 are employed by public schools.
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13. Elementary school teachers (except special education) earn a median of $61,760 a year and 1,188,180 are employed by public schools.
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11 (tie). Middle school special education teachers earn a median of $61,820 a year and 74,150 are employed by public schools.
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11 (tie). Kindergarten and elementary school special education teachers earn a median of $61,820 a year and 171,750 are employed by public schools.
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10. Secondary school career/technical education teachers earn a median of $62,130 a year and 77,640 are employed by public schools.
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8 (tie). Secondary school special education teachers earn a median of $62,420 a year and 129,150 are employed by public schools.
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8 (tie). Secondary school teachers (except special and career/technical education) earn a median of $62,420 a year and 864,370 are employed by public schools.English teacher Radka Tomasek speaks to the class at the English Center June 16, 2006 in Miami, Florida.
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7. Child, family, and school social workers earn a median of $62,470 a year and 40,650 are employed by public schools.
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6. Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors earn a median of $63,840 a year and 131,780 are employed by public schools.
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5. Teachers and instructors (all other) earn a median of $73,750 a year and 53,410 are employed by public schools.
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This is a catch-all category used by the BLS to designate classroom occupations that are not included in other occupational groups.
4. Speech-language pathologists earn a median of $75,510 a year and 57,590 are employed by public schools.
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3. Instructional coordinators earn a median of $76,490 a year and 74,280 are employed by public schools.In this May 13, 2010 photo, English teacher Nicholas Melvoin walks around his classroom as he teaches at Edwin Markham Middle School.
AP
2. School psychologists earn a median of $78,830 a year and 45,790 are employed by public schools.
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1. Education administrators, such as principals and superintendents, earn a median of $98,870 and 224,410 are employed by public schools.
Ross D. Franklin/AP
Method and data source
Public schools employ a wide variety of workers, and salaries range from well below the median wage to very high-paying.
The median annual wage across all public school occupations was $49,120. The salaries for occupations with at least 25,000 employed within the sector range from $28,300 for school bus monitors to $98,870 for education administrators.
Teacher salaries also vary between grade levels. For instance, elementary school teachers earn a median wage of $61,760 a year, while preschool teachers earn a median wage of $59,280.
For our analysis, we looked at all the occupations with at least 25,000 employees in the local-government-owned school sector in May 2021. We then ranked these occupations from lowest to highest wage. In addition to the median annual pay, the above slides also include the number of people in that job within this industry.