Teacher salary in California: what each kind of teacher earns.
There is no single teacher wage. Here is the BLS median for each kind of teacher in California, how many people do the work there, and how it compares with the national figure.
$47,400 – $103,050
Range of medians across the 13 teacher occupations BLS publishes for California. No BLS figure combines them.
BLS publishes no single “teacher” wage for California. Across the 13 teacher occupations with a published May 2025 median in California, median annual pay ran from $47,400 (“preschool teachers, except special education”) to $103,050 (“special education teachers, all other”). “Elementary school teachers, except special education”, the largest of them in California (155,160 employed), earned a median of $99,650, compared with $63,970 nationally.
Teachers in California at a glance
“Elementary school teachers, except special education” are the largest teacher occupation with a published median in California, with 155,160 employed and a median annual wage of $99,650 in May 2025 (BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Among the teacher occupations with a published median in California, “special education teachers, all other” had the highest: $103,050 (May 2025, BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
12 of the 13 teacher occupations with a published median in California were paid above their own national median in May 2025 (BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Nationally, BLS publishes a median of $63,250 for its preschool, elementary, middle, secondary, and special education teachers group; BLS publishes no state figure for that group, so this page shows each occupation separately.
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
What each kind of teacher earns in California
Data One row per BLS occupation with a published state median, sorted by median annual pay. Hourly pay is shown only where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation (BLS title) | Median annual pay, California | Median hourly | Employed in California | National median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Education Teachers, All Other | $103,050 | annual only | 8,920 | $76,580 | +35% vs national |
| Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors | $102,030 | $49.05 | 1,660 | $61,540 | +66% vs national |
| Special Education Teachers, Middle School | $101,530 | annual only | 4,860 | $66,810 | +52% vs national |
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $101,370 | annual only | 99,230 | $72,040 | +41% vs national |
| Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | $101,060 | annual only | 12,100 | $74,260 | +36% vs national |
| Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | $99,650 | annual only | 155,160 | $63,970 | +56% vs national |
| Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $98,950 | annual only | 37,300 | $64,370 | +54% vs national |
| Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School | $97,170 | annual only | 23,280 | $65,120 | +49% vs national |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | $82,550 | annual only | 7,430 | $62,680 | +32% vs national |
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School | $80,620 | annual only | 3,260 | $66,270 | +22% vs national |
| Substitute Teachers, Short-Term | $60,300 | $28.99 | 115,660 | $41,670 | +45% vs national |
| Special Education Teachers, Preschool | $59,550 | annual only | 2,510 | $64,830 | -8% vs national |
| Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education | $47,400 | $22.79 | 55,700 | $38,140 | +24% vs national |
Data The other 1 teacher occupation on the national page, and what BLS publishes for California:
- no estimate in BLS's May 2025 file for California: Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School.
How this page is built
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS state estimates for California, May 2025, for each BLS detailed occupation on the national Teachers page. BLS publishes no teacher-wide state figure; nothing on this page is averaged or combined by TryHired. “Difference” compares each occupation's state median with its own national median. Top-coded medians (BLS “#”) are shown as “$239,200 a year or more”, never as a number.
- Pay at a specific employer, hospital system, union contract or school district.
- Pay in a specific city: metro figures differ from the state median.
- Licensing rules in California.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).