US states by elementary school teacher mean annual wage

New York had the highest elementary school teacher mean annual wage of 51 states in 2017, at $80,540. Oklahoma had the lowest, at $40,530. The median was $56,070 and the figure for the United States was $60,830. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Highest80,540New York

Lowest40,530Oklahoma

Median56,07051 states

United States60,830History

Map of states, 2017

Under 48K
48K to 53K
53K to 56K
56K to 61K
61K to 68K
68K and over

USD, 2017. Source: BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2017

USD. Source: BLS, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	States	2017 USD	Change on 2016
1	New York	80,540	+4.2%
2	California	77,990	+5%
3	Connecticut	77,900	+1.5%
4	Alaska	77,030	+5.4%
5	District of Columbia	76,950	+3%
6	Massachusetts	76,590	+2.8%
7	New Jersey	69,500	+1%
8	Virginia	68,460	+2.6%
9	Rhode Island	67,990	+2.8%
10	Maryland	67,340	+3.6%
11	Oregon	65,640	+3.5%
12	Pennsylvania	65,370	+5%
13	Minnesota	63,490	+2.4%
14	Michigan	62,720	+2.4%
15	Illinois	62,620	+3.1%
16	Washington	62,580	+2.7%
17	Vermont	61,090	+7.3%
18	Delaware	60,600	-0.3%
19	Ohio	59,950	+1.6%
20	Hawaii	59,790	+4.2%
21	New Mexico	59,060	+1.7%
22	Wyoming	58,420	-0.7%
23	New Hampshire	57,470	+1.9%
24	Wisconsin	56,940	+3.3%
25	Texas	56,760	+3.6%
26	Nebraska	56,070	+2.4%
27	Nevada	55,700	+1.6%
28	Georgia	54,870	-0%
29	Utah	54,750	+1.1%
30	Iowa	53,710	+1.3%
31	Maine	53,190	+2.7%
32	Kentucky	53,140	+1.4%
33	Missouri	52,700	-1.3%
34	Montana	52,610	+7.3%
35	Colorado	52,390	+2%
36	North Dakota	51,090	+3.6%
37	South Carolina	50,510	+4.2%
38	Tennessee	50,320	+0.5%
39	Indiana	50,310	+2.2%
40	Kansas	50,200	+2.2%
41	Alabama	49,040	-0.2%
42	Florida	48,340	+1.5%
43	Louisiana	48,310	+0.4%
44	Arkansas	48,110	+2.5%
45	Idaho	47,630	+1%
46	North Carolina	45,690	+4.1%
47	West Virginia	45,530	0%
48	Mississippi	44,230	+4.4%
49	Arizona	44,220	+3.5%
50	South Dakota	41,570	-3.7%
51	Oklahoma	40,530	-1.5%

Other periods

About this ranking

Average (mean) annual wage of elementary school teachers, except special education (Standard Occupational Classification 25-2021), in US dollars, from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Public and private schools. Estimates refer to May of each year.

Teachers report an annual salary for the school year, so BLS publishes no hourly rate for them. Excludes special education, kindergarten and middle school teachers. Pay is straight-time gross pay: base rate, cost-of-living allowances, commissions, production bonuses and tips. Overtime, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses and employer-paid benefits are excluded.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17st.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021) (US states by elementary school teacher mean annual wage, 2017) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17st.zip

MLA 9

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021), US states by elementary school teacher mean annual wage, 2017. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15 May 2026, https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17st.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/elementary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2026. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021). US states by elementary school teacher mean annual wage, 2017. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17st.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/elementary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021), US states by elementary school teacher mean annual wage, 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17st.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/elementary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{bureau_us_states_by_elementary_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
  title = {{Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021): US states by elementary school teacher mean annual wage, 2017}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17st.zip},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/elementary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2017. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17st.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
TI  - Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021): US states by elementary school teacher mean annual wage, 2017
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/15
PB  - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17st.zip
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/elementary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/elementary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2017.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17st.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Questions

Which state has the highest elementary school teacher mean annual wage?

New York, with $80,540 in 2017, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Which state has the lowest elementary school teacher mean annual wage?

Oklahoma, with $40,530 in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, elementary school teachers except special education (25-2021). Retrieved 2026-10-12.