State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
Middle School Teacher Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
The median pay for Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education is $64,370 a year, according to BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment is projected to fall 2.0% through 2034, with about 40,500 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
SOC 25-2022Educational Instruction and LibraryLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $64,370
- Projected growth
- -2.0%
- Openings a year
- 40,500
- Typical education
- Bachelor's
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Art Teacher, English Teacher, Language Arts Teacher (LA Teacher), Math Teacher (Mathematics Teacher), Middle School Teacher, Music Teacher.
How much do Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education make?
10th percentile$48,080
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$58,530
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$64,370
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$80,490
Upper quartile
90th percentile$102,540
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $64,370 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | N/A |
| Mean annual wage | $72,030 |
| People employed | 620,090 |
Versus all US occupations
At $64,370, Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education earn 26% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $13,390 a year.
Versus educational instruction and library occupations
Inside the Educational Instruction and Library group, where the middle occupation pays $77,355, this is 17% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $102,540 or more while the bottom 10% earn $48,080, a gap of 2.1×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 50% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Washington pays the most at $102,140, and still leads at $95,446 once local prices are taken into account.
Which states pay Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $102,140 | $95,446 | 10,510 |
| California | $98,950 | $89,370 | 37,300 |
| New York | $94,840 | $87,879 | 38,670 |
| Connecticut | $93,610 | $90,348 | 7,920 |
| Rhode Island | $92,760 | $90,692 | 2,370 |
| Massachusetts | $89,450 | $84,581 | 16,570 |
| District of Columbia | $79,900 | $72,702 | 1,540 |
| Utah | $79,180 | $80,090 | 5,960 |
| Alaska | $78,940 | $77,121 | 1,150 |
| New Jersey | $78,770 | $72,396 | 23,650 |
Is Middle School Teacher a growing career?
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education-2.0%
All US occupations3.1%
-2.0% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Declining
BLS projects employment of Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education to change -2.0% over 2024–2034, while total US employment is projected to rise 3.1%. That is 12,400 fewer jobs.
Annual openings
About 40,500 openings are projected each year, 6.4% of the 633,700 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
The number of students in public middle schools is expected to decrease over the projections decade. The number of classes needed to accommodate these students will depend on class size, with larger classes requiring fewer teachers than smaller ones.
How to become a Middle School Teacher
Middle school teachers typically need a bachelor’s degree. In addition, public school teachers must have a state-issued certification or license.
| Typical entry-level education | Bachelor's degree |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Medium preparation |
| Work experience in a related occupation | None |
| Typical on-the-job training | None |
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education.
- Bachelor's Degree66.9%
- Post-Baccalaureate Certificate21.3%
- Less than a High School Diploma9.6%
- Master's Degree2.2%
What does a Middle School Teacher do?
Teach one or more subjects to students at the middle, intermediate, or junior high school level.
Middle school teachers educate students, typically in sixth through eighth grade. Middle school teachers help students build on the fundamentals taught in elementary school and prepare students for high school.
Day-to-day tasks
- Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health.
- Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students.
- Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate these objectives to students.
- Enforce all administration policies and rules governing students.
- Assign lessons and correct homework.
- Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
- Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
- Meet or correspond with parents or guardians to discuss children's progress and to determine priorities and resource needs.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Where middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education work
| Elementary and secondary schools; local | 84% |
|---|---|
| Elementary and secondary schools; private | 14% |
| Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations | 1% |
| Elementary and secondary schools; state | 1% |
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition.
Core skills
- Learning Strategies4.3/5
- Speaking4.1/5
- Active Listening4.0/5
- Reading Comprehension3.9/5
- Writing3.9/5
- Active Learning3.9/5
- Monitoring3.9/5
- Critical Thinking3.8/5
Transferable skills
- Instructing4.3/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.9/5
- Coordination3.8/5
- Time Management3.8/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.6/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.6/5
- Service Orientation3.3/5
- Persuasion3.1/5
Tools and software
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Operating system software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Video conferencing software · in demand
- Web page creation and editing software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Analytical or scientific software
- Cloud-based data access and sharing software
- Computer based training software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
What personality type suits a Middle School Teacher?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realistic2.6
Investigative3.3
Artisticprimary4.1
Socialprimary7.0
Enterprising2.7
Conventionalprimary3.6
Day to day this is work built around teaching, helping and working directly with other people, combined with creating, designing and working without a fixed set of rules.
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Middle School Teacher: frequently asked questions
How much do Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education make?
Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education earn a median of $64,370 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 26% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. The middle half earn between $58,530 and $80,490. The top 10% earn $102,540 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Middle School Teacher?
Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 66.9% hold bachelor's degree.
Is Middle School Teacher a growing career?
No. BLS projects employment to fall 2.0% over 2024–2034, a loss of 12,400 jobs (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 40,500 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Middle School Teacher do?
Middle school teachers educate students, typically in sixth through eighth grade. A core O*NET task: observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health. Employers most often ask for Document management software, Electronic mail software, Office suite software.
Which states pay Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education the most?
The highest state medians for Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education are Washington ($102,140), California ($98,950), New York ($94,840) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Middle School Teacher?
O*NET scores Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education highest on the Social, Artistic and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes teaching, helping and working directly with other people with creating, designing and working without a fixed set of rules. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ESFP, ENFJ, ENFP. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.