Middle School Teachers Salary: $95,363 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 620,370 middle school teachers nationally earn a mean of $95,363. Employment in the series shown fell about 12% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 2.5% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Middle School Teachers: what the data shows
Common questions about middle school teachers careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a middle school teachers?
Middle School Teachers is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 25-2022.
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 620,370 workers.
What does a middle school teachers do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Coaching and Developing Others, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Developing Objectives and Strategies, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work, Getting Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a middle school teachers make?
BLS national median annual wage: $62,970 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $95,363 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $62,761 |
| 25th percentile | $77,696 |
| Median (50th) | $99,451 |
| 75th percentile | $109,970 |
| 90th percentile | $131,674 |
What education do you need?
For Middle School Teachers, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Instructing, Writing, Learning Strategies, Social Perceptiveness, Reading Comprehension, and knowledge areas including English Language, Education and Training, Customer and Personal Service, Psychology. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is middle school teachers in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 2.5% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 13.1%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 28.0%.
Current U.S. headcount: 620,370.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do middle school teacherss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Educational Services | 1,238,400 | 25.4% |
| Elementary and Secondary Schools | 1,237,400 | 25.3% |
| Cross-industry | 620,370 | 12.7% |
| Educational Services | 619,200 | 12.7% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 546,970 | 11.2% |
| Local Government, including Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation) | 543,690 | 11.1% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Middle School Teachers in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary School Teachers | 1,393,310 | $62,340 |
| Special Education Teachers | 28,200 | $62,190 |
| Teachers, Postsecondary | 1,500,000 | — |
| Secondary School Teachers | 1,072,540 | $64,580 |
| Teachers and Instructors, All Other | 125,010 | $64,690 |
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | 11,430 | $84,290 |
| Kindergarten Teachers | 114,410 | $61,430 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Middle School Teachers workforce.
Employment Over Time
620,370 Workforce in 2023
The Middle School Teachers workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Middle School Teachers.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$95,363 Average Wage
In 2023, Middle School Teachers earned an average of $95,363.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Middle School Teachers.
Salary distribution for Middle School Teachers.
Employment Growth Projections
2.5% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
207,025 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 13.1%
234,229 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 28.0%
This occupation is projected to grow at 2.5% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Middle School Teachers.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Middle School Teachers and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Middle School Teachers employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Middle School Teachers.
Wage Trends by Industry
-4.7% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Middle School Teachers.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Middle School Teachers.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 43,110 employees, $95,851 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Middle School Teachers.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 13,330 employees, $92,951 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 5,120 employees, $111,993 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 4,260 employees, $93,265 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 3,950 employees, $107,628 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 3,660 employees, $93,383 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 2,260 employees, $84,003 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 1,940 employees, $90,351 avg wage
- Stockton-Lodi MSA: 1,520 employees, $87,064 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 1,500 employees, $91,111 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 1,120 employees, $84,814 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Middle School Teachers.
Diversity
Demographic information on Middle School Teachers in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Middle School Teachers in 2023 was 620,370 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Middle School Teachers.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Middle School Teachers.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Middle School Teachers.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Middle School Teachers in 2023 were Education, Subject Area, Psychology.
Common majors for Middle School Teachers.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Middle School Teachers workers.
Education level distribution for Middle School Teachers.
Skills
Middle School Teachers need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Instructing, Writing, Learning Strategies, Social Perceptiveness.
Required skills for Middle School Teachers.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Middle School Teachers.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Middle School Teachers include English Language, Education and Training, Customer and Personal Service, Psychology, Computers and Electronics.
Knowledge areas required for Middle School Teachers.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Middle School Teachers include Oral Expression, Speech Clarity, Oral Comprehension, Written Comprehension, Written Expression.
Required abilities for Middle School Teachers.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Middle School Teachers.
Daily Activities
Middle School Teachers spend their time on activities such as Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Coaching and Developing Others, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Developing Objectives and Strategies, Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work.
Most important work activities for Middle School Teachers.
About
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
The average yearly wage for Middle School Teachers was $95,363 in 2023.
SOC Code
25-2022 - Middle School Teachers
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Middle School Teachers reports an average salary of $95,363.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 620,370 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 2.5%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.