Occupation salary profile

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

SOC 25-2031 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Teach one or more subjects to students at the secondary school level. Excludes “Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School” (25-2032), “Special Education Teachers” (25-2050), and “Substitute Teachers, Short-Term” (25-3031).

National median · BLS
$72,040
▲ +11.55% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$59,146
▲ +5.39% YoY · 2,021 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$76,320
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
1,065,210
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 2,021 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$48,780$46,670
25th$59,980$52,500
Median (50th)$72,040$59,146
75th$92,570$67,479
90th — top pay$107,600$79,000
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $59,146 for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education — 17.9% below the BLS national median of $72,040.

Hourly ⇄ annual pay

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

BLS projects employment of secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education to decline 0.2% from 2025 to 2035, while employment across all occupations grows 3.5%. About 63,500 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
1,087,500 → 1,085,000
-2,500 jobs
Projected change
-0.2%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
63,500
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
0.1% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-declining jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $59,146
Change vs prior year +5.39%
After inflation (CPI-U) +2.19%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 1,135 56.2% $49,885 $55,220 $63,277
Level II 320 15.8% $56,126 $61,604 $67,301
Level III 131 6.5% $55,669 $65,350 $71,425
Level IV 108 5.3% $61,731 $72,710 $77,118
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

The 30 most-filed job titles inside SOC 25-2031, from 2,021 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Teacher 328 16.23% $47,100 $54,000 $62,240 +5.88%
Math Teacher 136 6.73% $49,421 $54,468 $63,319 -0.37%
Science Teacher 116 5.74% $51,870 $55,660 $60,768 +0%
High School Math Teacher 107 5.29% $56,468 $65,000 $71,242 +7.26%
High School Teacher 90 4.45% $53,142 $60,780 $67,367 +12.22%
Secondary Teacher 87 4.3% $60,000 $65,000 $65,000 +0%
Secondary School Teacher 82 4.06% $56,137 $64,794 $72,710 +14.6%
Mathematics Teacher 70 3.46% $55,300 $62,758 $69,149 +11.52%
High School Science Teacher 65 3.22% $56,000 $62,000 $70,270 +4.38%
Spanish Teacher 55 2.72% $50,849 $56,049 $63,030 +1.91%
Public School Teacher 44 2.18% $48,500 $53,000 $58,383 +15.22%
Computer Teacher 25 1.24% $49,960 $51,990 $53,540 -3.02%
High School Spanish Teacher 24 1.19% $55,192 $60,963 $66,003 +5.47%
English Teacher 23 1.14% $49,915 $55,660 $61,514 +9.02%
Secondary Math Teacher 23 1.14% $51,539 $57,183 $68,025 +3.63%
High School English Teacher 22 1.09% $44,442 $57,112 $61,360 -5.58%
Certified Teacher 20 0.99% $73,998 $80,852 $87,031 —
Secondary Science Teacher 20 0.99% $52,957 $60,180 $75,338 -2.71%
World Language Teacher 19 0.94% $60,564 $64,478 $72,079 +3.34%
High School Mathematics Teacher 18 0.89% $44,200 $50,586 $58,129 -12.31%
Computer Science Teacher 18 0.89% $54,386 $57,105 $65,027 -3.73%
Foreign Language Teacher 15 0.74% $51,235 $53,540 $62,613 -0.04%
Secondary Mathematics Teacher 15 0.74% $54,503 $62,125 $66,726 -12.75%
Elementary Teacher 14 0.69% $54,575 $58,050 $62,491 +6.56%
Classroom Teacher 14 0.69% $56,176 $57,314 $58,855 +4.63%
Biology Teacher 12 0.59% $58,158 $63,481 $73,662 +7.97%
ESL Teacher 10 0.49% $54,386 $55,660 $66,265 +3.94%
Physics Teacher 10 0.49% $59,500 $66,276 $73,500 +9.25%
French Teacher 10 0.49% $53,133 $58,130 $68,176 +2.12%
Science Secondary Teacher 10 0.49% $70,882 $82,290 $95,063 —

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Instructing4.1
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Learning Strategies4.0
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Speaking4.0
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Monitoring3.9
  • Social Perceptiveness3.9
  • Active Learning3.8
  • Coordination3.8
Top knowledge areas
  • Education and Training4.7
  • English Language4.3
  • Customer and Personal Service3.9
  • Computers and Electronics3.6
  • Psychology3.4
  • Sociology and Anthropology3.2
  • History and Archeology3.0
  • Communications and Media3.0
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft SharePointMicrosoft WordABC programming languageBlackboard softwareCommon CurriculumDesmosEmail softwareFlipgridGeogebraGoogle ClassroomGoogle DriveGoogle MeetInstructional softwareLogo design softwareMoodle

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education do

  • Prepare students for later grades by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
  • Instruct through lectures, discussions, and demonstrations in one or more subjects, such as English, mathematics, or social studies.
  • Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
  • Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
  • Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
  • Prepare, administer, and grade tests and assignments to evaluate students' progress.
  • Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
  • Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
Also called
English TeacherMath Teacher (Mathematics Teacher)Social Studies TeacherTeacherArt TeacherMusic TeacherPE Teacher (Physical Education Teacher)Science TeacherSecondary TeacherSpanish Teacher
More job titles for this occupation (76)
Accounting TeacherAfter School TeacherAlgebra TeacherArt EducatorArt InstructorArts and Crafts TeacherAthletic InstructorAthletics TeacherBand TeacherBilingual TeacherBiology TeacherCeramics TeacherChemistry TeacherChoir TeacherChoral TeacherClassroom TeacherCoachEconomics TeacherEducatorEnglish InstructorESL Instructor (English as a Second Language Instructor)ESL Teacher (English as a Second Language Teacher)Exercise TeacherForeign Language TeacherFrench TeacherGeometry TeacherGuitar TeacherGym Teacher (Gymnasium Teacher)Health and PE Teacher (Health and Physical Education Teacher)Health TeacherHebrew TeacherHigh School Biology TeacherHigh School CoachHigh School English TeacherHigh School French TeacherHigh School History TeacherHigh School PE Teacher (High School Physical Education Teacher)High School Science TeacherHigh School Spanish TeacherHigh School TeacherHistory TeacherHS Math Teacher (High School Mathematics Teacher)Language Arts TeacherLanguage InstructorLanguage TeacherLatin TeacherManual Arts TeacherManual Training TeacherMath Instructor (Mathematics Instructor)Military Science InstructorMusic EducatorMusic InstructorMusic Theory TeacherOrchestra TeacherOrgan TeacherPE Instructor (Physical Education Instructor)Physical Fitness TeacherPhysics TeacherPiano TeacherPublic Speaking TeacherReligion TeacherSecondary History TeacherSecondary Science TeacherSewing TeacherSinging TeacherSocial Science TeacherSpeech TeacherSports TeacherTheater TeacherTrigonometry TeacherTyping TeacherViolin TeacherVocal TeacherVoice TeacherWorld History TeacherWorld Language Teacher

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.