Teacher salary in Kentucky: what each kind of teacher earns.
There is no single teacher wage. Here is the BLS median for each kind of teacher in Kentucky, how many people do the work there, and how it compares with the national figure.
$29,730 – $63,140
Range of medians across the 13 teacher occupations BLS publishes for Kentucky. No BLS figure combines them.
BLS publishes no single “teacher” wage for Kentucky. Across the 13 teacher occupations with a published May 2025 median in Kentucky, median annual pay ran from $29,730 (“substitute teachers, short-term”) to $63,140 (“special education teachers, all other”). “Elementary school teachers, except special education”, the largest of them in Kentucky (19,080 employed), earned a median of $60,610, compared with $63,970 nationally.
Teachers in Kentucky at a glance
“Elementary school teachers, except special education” are the largest teacher occupation with a published median in Kentucky, with 19,080 employed and a median annual wage of $60,610 in May 2025 (BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
Among the teacher occupations with a published median in Kentucky, “special education teachers, all other” had the highest: $63,140 (May 2025, BLS).
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025
None of the 13 teacher occupations with a published median in Kentucky 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 Kentucky
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, Kentucky | Median hourly | Employed in Kentucky | National median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Education Teachers, All Other | $63,140 | annual only | 290 | $76,580 | -18% vs national |
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $61,560 | annual only | 12,780 | $72,040 | -15% vs national |
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School | $61,130 | annual only | 330 | $66,270 | -8% vs national |
| Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $61,120 | annual only | 8,040 | $64,370 | -5% vs national |
| Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | $60,730 | annual only | 2,680 | $74,260 | -18% vs national |
| Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | $60,610 | annual only | 19,080 | $63,970 | -5% vs national |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | $60,280 | annual only | 2,450 | $62,680 | -4% vs national |
| Special Education Teachers, Middle School | $60,200 | annual only | 1,530 | $66,810 | -10% vs national |
| Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School | $60,060 | annual only | 3,710 | $65,120 | -8% vs national |
| Special Education Teachers, Preschool | $54,220 | annual only | not published | $64,830 | -16% vs national |
| Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors | $44,990 | $21.63 | 350 | $61,540 | -27% vs national |
| Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education | $29,780 | $14.32 | 8,520 | $38,140 | -22% vs national |
| Substitute Teachers, Short-Term | $29,730 | $14.29 | 320 | $41,670 | -29% vs national |
Data The other 1 teacher occupation on the national page, and what BLS publishes for Kentucky:
- no estimate in BLS's May 2025 file for Kentucky: Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School.
How this page is built
Pay and employment are BLS OEWS state estimates for Kentucky, 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 Kentucky.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).