Secondary school teachers

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

960k

Average Age

43.2

Average Salary

$56,480

Average Male Salary

$59,619

Average Female Salary

$54,216

About

Secondary school teachers are most often employed by the Elementary & secondary schools industry. The average yearly wage for Secondary school teachers was $56,480 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Secondary school teachers by wage are Tax preparers, Industrial & refractory machinery mechanics, and Surface mining machine operators and earth drillers.

Secondary school teachers are part of the Education, Training, & Library Occupations, along with Postsecondary teachers, Preschool & kindergarten teachers, Elementary & middle school teachers, Secondary school teachers, Special education teachers, and 7 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Secondary school teachers are Litchfield County PUMA, CT, Chittenden, Franklin & Grand Isle CountiesBurlington City PUMA, VT, and Minot City PUMA, ND. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Secondary school teachers are Huntington Town (North) PUMA, NY, Enid City PUMA, OK, and Gila, Graham, Greenlee & Pinal (East) Counties PUMA, AZ.

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Secondary school teachers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Elementary & secondary schools is the industry that employs the most Secondary school teachers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Secondary school teachers, by average wage, is Administration of human resource programs. Secondary school teachers are paid most in Riverside City (West) PUMA, CA but are relatively concentrated in Huntington Town (North) PUMA, NY.

Yearly Wage

$56,480

AVERAGE SALARY

± $729

In 2020, Secondary school teachers earned an average of $56,480, $526 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Surface mining machine operators and earth drillers make somewhat more than Secondary school teachers while Tax preparers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Secondary school teachers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.269

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Secondary school teachers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.269, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Secondary school teachers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Secondary school teachers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Secondary school teachers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Secondary school teachers.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Secondary school teachers, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Business, technical & trade schools and training, Other schools & instruction and educational support services, Religious organizations, Child day care services, Employment services, Investigation & security services, Individual & family services, Administration of human resource programs, and Amusement & Recreation.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Secondary school teachers, by average wage, are Administration of human resource programs, Business, technical & trade schools and training, and Elementary & secondary schools.

Industries by Share

960k

2020 Workforce

± 23,982

10.6%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.28%

The number of people employed as Secondary school teachers has been growing at a rate of 10.6%, from 868,411 people in 2019 to 960,354 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Secondary school teachers employed by various industries. Elementary & secondary schools employs the largest share of Secondary school teachers at 98.6%, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 0.569% and Business, technical & trade schools and training with 0.333%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Secondary school teachers in the US. The average age of male Secondary school teachers in the workforce is 43.3 and of female Secondary school teachers is 43.1, and the most common race/ethnicity for Secondary school teachers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

402k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 15,553

558k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 18,305

58.1% of Secondary school teachers are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Secondary school teachers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Secondary school teachers

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

77.5% of Secondary school teachers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 7.37% of Secondary school teachers, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Secondary school teachers.

Age by Sex

43.3

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.49

43.1

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.41

The median age of Secondary school teachers is 43.2, and Male employees are generally 0.223 years older than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Secondary school teachers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Secondary school teachers is Education but a relatively high number of Secondary school teachers hold a major in Education.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Secondary school teachers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Secondary school teachers need many skills, but most especially Instructing, Speaking, and Learning Strategies. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Secondary school teachers need more than the average amount of Learning Strategies, Instructing, and Social Perceptiveness.