The strongest job markets for Teachers

Have a brand new shiny teaching credential, and looking for a place to put it to work?

If you are a recently— or about-to-be—graduated teacher, there are excellent resources to help you identify strong potential job markets. The same holds true for experienced teachers, although they typically have stronger access to hiring tips and trends through the grapevine of their colleagues, unions, and professional associations.

Key considerations for choosing a job location

While employment demand—or anticipated job openings—is a critical consideration, choosing a new work and living location involves other factors as well; two are wages and cost of living. Annual median wages (this is the wage point at which half of the workers in an occupation earn less and half earn more) vary considerably across the U.S.—from a high of $82,000 to a low of $34,000. Starting salaries will typically be considerably lower for beginning teachers. Cost of living is a key consideration when evaluating wage data; a high salary sounds great, but if your rent, food costs, and other necessities are also very high, the numbers add up to a wash.

Employment trends for teachers

As with many occupations in the U.S., there will be a large wave of teacher retirements as baby boomers age out of the workforce. Teacher shortages are expected to be most acute in high population states including CA, TX, FL, GA, and NY.

Teaching specialties overall that are in particular demand include special education, science, math, bilingual teachers; you can see which teaching specialties are particularly in demand in every state as reported by the U.S. Department of Education.

Employment of teachers is projected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations. Rising student enrollment should increase demand for teachers, but employment growth will vary by region. Opportunities are likely to be better in urban and rural school districts than in suburban school districts.

Employment growth may depend on state and local government budgets. If state and local governments experience budget deficits, school boards may lay off employees, including teachers. As a result, employment growth of teachers may be reduced by state and local government budget deficits. Conversely, budget surpluses at the state and local level could lead to additional employment growth for high school teachers.

Strong hiring markets – High school teachers

Strong demand for teachers at all levels is indicated in the southwest and southeast United States now and for the next several years’ projections.

For high school teachers, the states with the highest employment level in this occupation are:

State	Employment
California	112,960
Texas	110,420
New York	74,830
Ohio	52,240
Pennsylvania	50,460

Top paying states for high school teachers:

State	Annual mean wage
New York	$85,300
California	$80,510
Massachusetts	$80,020
Alaska	$77,920
Connecticut	$76,980

Data on teacher employment and wages is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can also find data on the cities that have the highest number of teachers and positions, as well as cities where teachers earn the highest salaries.

Learn more on CareerOneStop’s Occupational Profile for Secondary School Teachers.

Strong hiring markets – Elementary school teachers

States with the highest employment level of Elementary School Teachers:

State	Employment
California	157,240
Texas	140,310
New York	80,930
Florida	72,560
Illinois	72,270

Top paying states for Elementary School Teachers:

State	Annual mean wage
New York	$80,540
California	$77,990
Connecticut	$77,900
Alaska	$77,030
District of Columbia	$76,950

Data on teacher employment and wages is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can also find data on the cities that have the highest number of teachers and positions, as well as cities where teachers earn the highest salaries.

Learn more on CareerOneStop’s Occupational Profile for Elementary School and Kindergarten Teachers.

You can find more about projections for teacher employment, current wages, and cost of living indicators – on CareerOneStop’s Available Workforce tool.