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Salary · Paraprofessional · United States

Paraprofessional salary: $36,780 median for the BLS occupation “Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary”.

The full pay range by percentile, every state, the top-paying metro areas and similar roles, from the latest BLS survey. Place your own offer on the range.

BLS does not publish paraprofessionals separately. The figures below are for the broader BLS occupation “Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary” (SOC 25-9045), which includes paraprofessionals and other jobs; they are not a figure for paraprofessionals alone.

Updated Oct 27, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025
Annual wage range · U.S. · BLS May 2025
$36,780median (not published/hr)

Quick answer

The median annual wage for teaching assistants, except postsecondary in the United States was $36,780 in May 2025 (BLS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $27,150 and the top 10% earned more than $50,040. That median is 0.7 times the $50,980 median for all occupations. The highest-paying state was Washington ($49,120).

Data Government data groups this job as Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education (O*NET-SOC 25-9042.00; BLS series “Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary”). Figures on this page are for that occupation.

10th percentile
$27,150
lowest-paid 10% earn less
25th percentile
$31,060
a quarter earn less
75th percentile
$45,360
a quarter earn more
90th percentile
$50,040
top 10% earn more
Pay by state

Paraprofessional salary in every state

Data BLS state estimates, May 2025. 51 states and DC published a median for this occupation. Sort by pay or by number employed.

Highest median pay
  1. Washington$49,120
  2. District of Columbia$46,920
  3. Maine$46,750
  4. California$46,490
  5. Vermont$43,800
Most people employed
  1. California177,140
  2. New York137,820
  3. Texas108,960
  4. Illinois64,210
  5. New Jersey55,580
Median annual wage by state
State10th–90th percentile
Washington$49,120$37,870–$62,81043,420
District of Columbia$46,920$38,370–$58,1003,950
Maine$46,750$36,210–$56,9208,700
California$46,490$37,240–$59,520177,140
Vermont$43,800$29,140–$51,5804,960
Minnesota$40,100$31,420–$50,41038,540
Oregon$39,850$30,300–$50,86023,030
Massachusetts$39,380$31,200–$59,97039,210
Virginia$38,520$28,220–$57,03031,370
New Hampshire$38,440$28,920–$48,7807,880
New York$38,240$32,240–$54,990137,820
North Dakota$38,240$29,130–$46,2605,600
Connecticut$38,110$34,010–$49,69019,740
Delaware$37,830$31,200–$47,3005,040
Wisconsin$37,800$29,060–$46,27026,520
New Jersey$37,290$32,220–$49,58055,580
Rhode Island$37,220$31,200–$47,7205,200
Alaska$37,190$27,440–$57,2103,810
Maryland$37,060$31,200–$59,68023,340
Utah$37,050$27,730–$47,40018,170
Illinois$36,990$31,200–$48,10064,210
Hawaii$36,810$30,130–$46,9905,470
Missouri$36,300$28,600–$47,31020,930
Wyoming$36,100$27,840–$44,0403,680
Ohio$35,920$26,810–$46,89047,300
Arizona$35,900$30,960–$42,59025,280
New Mexico$35,900$27,050–$46,3908,970
Colorado$35,760$30,800–$48,47021,910
Idaho$35,560$23,980–$48,8008,710
Nebraska$35,160$28,080–$45,11011,190
Michigan$35,110$27,550–$45,37039,030
Montana$34,750$23,950–$45,4303,930
Pennsylvania$34,740$23,380–$45,98048,310
Florida$34,430$28,490–$40,15054,530
Indiana$33,300$23,970–$44,61028,450
Nevada$31,900$27,880–$41,6407,100
Iowa$30,510$22,400–$37,52024,520
Kentucky$30,160$23,980–$46,37016,330
Texas$29,850$22,480–$42,520108,960
West Virginia$29,800$27,400–$36,7505,110
North Carolina$29,790$25,110–$38,05032,150
Kansas$29,490$21,800–$38,19020,000
Tennessee$29,210$22,010–$40,31023,280
Arkansas$28,790$23,670–$38,36011,270
Georgia$28,770$21,190–$39,12033,410
South Dakota$28,220$24,800–$35,4104,650
Oklahoma$27,920$17,940–$37,37013,860
South Carolina$27,860$21,910–$44,29014,410
Louisiana$27,400$20,680–$38,62014,530
Mississippi$25,840$18,830–$32,3009,750
Alabama$24,070$21,440–$30,59010,140
Top-paying metro areas

Where the median is highest

Data Metropolitan areas with at least 100 people employed in the occupation, BLS May 2025.

  1. Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA$57,950
  2. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$53,950
  3. Bellingham, WA$51,670
  4. Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater, WA$51,350
  5. Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA$50,530
  6. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$49,360
  7. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$49,010
  8. Portland-South Portland, ME$48,770
  9. Decatur, IL$48,480
  10. Napa, CA$48,450
Similar roles

How the pay compares

Data National medians for related occupations (O*NET related roles, BLS pay).

  1. Principal$105,870
  2. School Counselor$64,330
  3. Substitute Teacher$41,670
  4. Paraprofessional (BLS: Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary)$36,780
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Method

How this page is built

Wages are BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics estimates for May 2025 (national, state and metropolitan area), for the occupation shown. OEWS wages are straight-time gross pay: they include base pay, commissions, production bonuses and tips, and exclude overtime, shift differentials, non-production bonuses and benefits. Percentiles describe all workers in the occupation, not entry or senior levels.

What this page can't tell you
  • Pay at a specific employer, or for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Experience level: percentiles are not seniority bands.
  • Equity, bonuses outside OEWS's definition, and benefits.
Sources
  1. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
  2. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.

Spotted an error in this data? Report a correction to TryHired.

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