SOC 25-2051BLS OEWS May 2025H-1B LCAs, last 12 months
Teach academic, social, and life skills to preschool-aged students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities. Excludes “Substitute Teachers, Short-Term” (25-3031).
National median · BLS
$64,830
▲ +4.25%YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$68,188
▲ +1.93%YoY · 26 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$76,380
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
29,510
Jobs (BLS)
Highest-paying state (cost-adjusted)Loading…
Most jobsLoading…
Highest-paying metro (cost-adjusted)Loading…
Check your salary
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 Special Education Teachers, Preschool
Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 26 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
$45,620
$45,785
25th
$52,210
$55,030
Median (50th)
$64,830
$68,188
75th
$91,660
$70,763
90th — top pay
$130,040
$82,982
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $68,188 for Special Education Teachers, Preschool —
5.2% above
the BLS national median of $64,830.
Hourly ⇄ annual pay
Type in either box; the other updates instantly.
⇄
Monthly—
Every 2 weeks—
Weekly—
Daily—
Based on
hrs/week ×
weeks/year
= 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035
Job outlook for Special Education Teachers, Preschool
BLS projects employment of special education teachers, preschool to grow 2.4% from 2025 to 2035, slower than the 3.5% average for all occupations.
About 2,000 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.
Jobs 2025 → 2035
30,500 → 31,300
+700 jobs
Projected change
+2.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
2,000
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
1.3% 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.
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$68,188
Change vs prior year+1.93%
After inflation (CPI-U)-1.16%
Wage level
LCAs
Share
P25
Median
P75
Level I
10
38.5%
$47,208
$68,625
$69,450
Top H-1B sponsors for Special Education Teachers, Preschool
Employers with the most certified LCAs for this occupation nationwide. Browse all sponsors →
Employer
Certified LCAs
Median
Profile
Special Education Teachers, Preschool salaries by state
BLS state medians, plus the same figure adjusted for local prices (BEA Regional Price Parities). Tap a state for its full range and H-1B pay.
State
Median
Jobs
Cost-adjusted
Profile
Special Education Teachers, Preschool salaries by metro area
Search by city, ZIP code or metro name. Tap a metro for its full range.
Metro area
Median
Jobs
Cost-adjusted
Profile
Skills & tools
Skills needed for Special Education Teachers, Preschool
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
Active Listening4.0
Critical Thinking4.0
Learning Strategies4.0
Monitoring4.0
Reading Comprehension4.0
Social Perceptiveness4.0
Speaking4.0
Active Learning3.9
Instructing3.9
Writing3.8
Top knowledge areas
Customer and Personal Service4.3
Education and Training4.3
English Language3.9
Administration and Management3.5
Psychology3.5
Administrative3.4
Computers and Electronics3.0
Sociology and Anthropology2.9
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointMicrosoft WordAmerican Sign Language BrowserChildren's educational softwareDrawing softwareEmail softwareScreen magnification softwareScreen reader softwareWeb browser software
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 special education teachers, preschool do
Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities.
Communicate nonverbally with children to provide them with comfort, encouragement, or positive reinforcement.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, or administrative regulations.
Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, or changing their diapers.
Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, or social skills, to preschool students with special needs.
Develop individual educational plans (IEPs) designed to promote students' educational, physical, or social development.
Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play.
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.
Similar jobs and how they pay
Occupations O*NET lists as closely related to Special Education Teachers, Preschool, with BLS national medians compared with this occupation's $64,830.
