US states by secondary school teacher mean annual wage
California had the highest secondary school teacher mean annual wage of 51 states in 2021, at $94,600. Mississippi had the lowest, at $48,030. The median was $63,120 and the figure for the United States was $69,530. Source: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Map of states, 2021
- Under 54K
- 54K to 57K
- 57K to 63K
- 63K to 67K
- 67K to 76K
- 76K and over
All states, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | States | 2021 | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 94,600 | +8.9% |
| 2 | New York | 92,660 | +4.2% |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 85,360 | +1.5% |
| 4 | Washington | 85,260 | +10.5% |
| 5 | Connecticut | 79,530 | +1.3% |
| 6 | New Jersey | 79,260 | +0.5% |
| 7 | District of Columbia | 77,760 | +16.4% |
| 8 | Virginia | 76,430 | |
| 9 | Oregon | 76,090 | +3.5% |
| 10 | Maryland | 75,840 | -3.4% |
| 11 | Pennsylvania | 73,800 | +6.1% |
| 12 | Alaska | 73,730 | -2.7% |
| 13 | Rhode Island | 72,270 | -5.2% |
| 14 | Illinois | 71,690 | -5.7% |
| 15 | Ohio | 71,180 | +7.8% |
| 16 | Georgia | 69,430 | +12.1% |
| 17 | Delaware | 68,780 | +1.1% |
| 18 | New Hampshire | 65,770 | +5.7% |
| 19 | Vermont | 64,920 | -2.2% |
| 20 | Hawaii | 64,880 | -2.2% |
| 21 | Utah | 64,350 | -2.7% |
| 22 | Florida | 64,120 | +4.2% |
| 23 | Minnesota | 63,970 | -0.9% |
| 24 | Wyoming | 63,820 | +2.7% |
| 25 | Nebraska | 63,370 | +1.3% |
| 26 | Michigan | 63,120 | +0.3% |
| 27 | Colorado | 61,970 | +6.9% |
| 28 | Nevada | 61,820 | +6.3% |
| 29 | Wisconsin | 61,440 | +3% |
| 30 | New Mexico | 60,770 | +7.2% |
| 31 | Texas | 60,470 | +4.2% |
| 32 | Iowa | 57,890 | -0.1% |
| 33 | Maine | 57,520 | +1.2% |
| 34 | Kentucky | 57,300 | +2.8% |
| 35 | Kansas | 56,320 | +2.1% |
| 36 | Tennessee | 56,260 | +2.9% |
| 37 | South Carolina | 56,120 | +4% |
| 38 | North Dakota | 56,090 | -0.9% |
| 39 | Oklahoma | 55,950 | +11.9% |
| 40 | Indiana | 55,250 | +2.1% |
| 41 | Arizona | 55,180 | +2.9% |
| 42 | Alabama | 54,630 | +2.7% |
| 43 | Louisiana | 53,950 | +2.9% |
| 44 | Idaho | 53,820 | +3.9% |
| 45 | Montana | 53,660 | +1.9% |
| 46 | Arkansas | 53,570 | +2% |
| 47 | West Virginia | 53,540 | +7.6% |
| 48 | North Carolina | 52,280 | +1.6% |
| 49 | Missouri | 48,900 | +0.7% |
| 50 | South Dakota | 48,620 | +6.1% |
| 51 | Mississippi | 48,030 | +4.2% |
Other periods
About this ranking
Average (mean) annual wage of secondary school teachers, except special and career or technical education (Standard Occupational Classification 25-2031), in US dollars, from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Public and private high 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, career and technical education and middle school teachers. Up to May 2009 the occupation was defined under the 2000 classification, which excluded vocational education 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, secondary school teachers except special and career or technical education (25-2031). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2026). Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, secondary school teachers except special and career or technical education (25-2031) (US states by secondary school teacher mean annual wage, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip
MLA 9
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, secondary school teachers except special and career or technical education (25-2031), US states by secondary school teacher mean annual wage, 2021. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15 May 2026, https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/secondary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2021. 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, secondary school teachers except special and career or technical education (25-2031). US states by secondary school teacher mean annual wage, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/secondary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2021.
Harvard
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2026) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, secondary school teachers except special and career or technical education (25-2031), US states by secondary school teacher mean annual wage, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/secondary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2021 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_secondary_2021,
author = {{U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics}},
title = {{Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, secondary school teachers except special and career or technical education (25-2031): US states by secondary school teacher mean annual wage, 2021}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/secondary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2021. Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, secondary school teachers except special and career or technical education (25-2031). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.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, secondary school teachers except special and career or technical education (25-2031): US states by secondary school teacher mean annual wage, 2021
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/05/15
PB - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
DB - Invokely
UR - https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/secondary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/secondary-teacher-salary/us-states?period=2021.
N1 - Publisher attribution: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May estimates, state cross-industry file: annual mean wage, secondary school teachers except special and career or technical education (25-2031). https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21st.zip. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
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Rank US states by secondary school teacher mean annual wage using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"teacher_annual_mean_wage_secondary","level":"region","within":"United States","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=teacher_annual_mean_wage_secondary&level=region&within=United%20States&limit=10Questions
Which state has the highest secondary school teacher mean annual wage?
California, with $94,600 in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Which state has the lowest secondary school teacher mean annual wage?
Mississippi, with $48,030 in 2021.
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, secondary school teachers except special and career or technical education (25-2031). Retrieved 2026-10-12.