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.
Special Education Teacher, Secondary School Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
The median pay for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School is $74,260 a year, according to BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment is projected to fall 1.6% through 2034, with about 11,100 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's degree.
SOC 25-2058Educational Instruction and LibraryLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $74,260
- Projected growth
- -1.6%
- Openings a year
- 11,100
- Typical education
- Bachelor's
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Education Specialist, Emotional Disability Special Education Teacher (ED SPED Teacher), Exceptional Student Education Teacher (ESE Teacher), Handicapped Teacher, HS SPED Teacher (High School Special Education Teacher), Learning Disabilities Special Education Teacher (LD Special Education Teacher).
How much do Special Education Teachers, Secondary School make?
10th percentile$49,800
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$60,180
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$74,260
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$93,730
Upper quartile
90th percentile$109,100
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $74,260 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | N/A |
| Mean annual wage | $77,260 |
| People employed | 163,930 |
Versus all US occupations
At $74,260, Special Education Teachers, Secondary School earn 46% above the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $23,280 a year.
Versus educational instruction and library occupations
Inside the Educational Instruction and Library group, where the middle occupation pays $77,355, this is 4% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $109,100 or more while the bottom 10% earn $49,800, a gap of 2.2×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 58% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Washington pays the most at $101,120, and still leads at $94,493 once local prices are taken into account.
Which states pay Special Education Teachers, Secondary School the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $101,120 | $94,493 | 2,510 |
| California | $101,060 | $91,275 | 12,100 |
| District of Columbia | $99,670 | $90,691 | 440 |
| Maryland | $93,530 | $89,111 | 1,560 |
| Rhode Island | $92,990 | $90,917 | 830 |
| New York | $89,310 | $82,755 | 15,250 |
| Massachusetts | $83,890 | $79,323 | 5,470 |
| New Jersey | $83,770 | $76,991 | 7,520 |
| Connecticut | $81,710 | $78,863 | 1,920 |
| Alaska | $80,580 | $78,723 | 590 |
Is Special Education Teacher, Secondary School a growing career?
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School-1.6%
All US occupations3.1%
-1.6% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Declining
BLS projects employment of Special Education Teachers, Secondary School to change -1.6% over 2024–2034, while total US employment is projected to rise 3.1%. That is 2,600 fewer jobs.
Annual openings
About 11,100 openings are projected each year, 6.8% of the 164,200 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Overall employment of special education teachers is projected to grow 1 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.
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.
Projected employment of special education teachers varies by occupation (see table).
Demand for special education teachers will be driven by school enrollments and the need for special education services.
How to become a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School
Special education teachers in public schools are required to have at least a bachelor’s degree and a state-issued certification or license. Private schools typically require teachers to have a bachelor’s degree, but the teachers are not required to be licensed or certified.
| 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 special education teachers, secondary school.
- Bachelor's Degree42.4%
- Master's Degree42.2%
- Post-Baccalaureate Certificate15.0%
- Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)0.2%
- Post-Master's Certificate0.2%
What does a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School do?
Teach academic, social, and life skills to secondary school 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.
Special education teachers work with students who have learning, mental, emotional, or physical disabilities. They adapt general education lessons and teach various subjects to students with mild to moderate disabilities. They also teach basic skills to students with severe disabilities.
Day-to-day tasks
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement.
- Confer with parents or guardians, other teachers, counselors, and administrators to resolve students' behavioral and academic problems.
- Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
- Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
- Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects, and communicate those objectives to students.
- Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
- Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and to determine priorities for their children and their resource needs.
- Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons promoting learning, following approved curricula.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Core skills
- Learning Strategies4.1/5
- Reading Comprehension4.0/5
- Speaking4.0/5
- Active Listening3.9/5
- Writing3.9/5
- Monitoring3.9/5
- Critical Thinking3.8/5
- Active Learning3.4/5
Transferable skills
- Instructing4.1/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.9/5
- Coordination3.9/5
- Service Orientation3.9/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.8/5
- Time Management3.8/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.6/5
- Persuasion3.0/5
Tools and software
- Data base user interface and query software · in demand
- Desktop publishing software · in demand
- Document management software · in demand
- Electronic mail software · in demand
- Graphics or photo imaging software · in demand
- Office suite software · in demand
- Presentation software · in demand
- Spreadsheet software · in demand
- Web page creation and editing software · in demand
- Word processing software · in demand
- Computer based training software
- Device drivers or system 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 Special Education Teacher, Secondary School?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realistic2.4
Investigativeprimary3.8
Artisticprimary3.8
Socialprimary7.0
Enterprising1.9
Conventional3.5
Day to day this is work built around teaching, helping and working directly with other people, combined with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data.
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.
Special Education Teacher, Secondary School: frequently asked questions
How much do Special Education Teachers, Secondary School make?
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School earn a median of $74,260 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 46% above the $50,980 US median across all occupations. The middle half earn between $60,180 and $93,730. The top 10% earn $109,100 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School?
Yes. BLS reports a bachelor's degree as the typical entry-level education for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as medium preparation. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 42.4% hold bachelor's degree.
Is Special Education Teacher, Secondary School a growing career?
No. BLS projects employment to fall 1.6% over 2024–2034, a loss of 2,600 jobs (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 11,100 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School do?
Special education teachers work with students who have learning, mental, emotional, or physical disabilities. A core O*NET task: teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification and positive reinforcement. Employers most often ask for Data base user interface and query software, Desktop publishing software, Document management software.
Which states pay Special Education Teachers, Secondary School the most?
The highest state medians for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School are Washington ($101,120), California ($101,060), District of Columbia ($99,670) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Special Education Teacher, Secondary School?
O*NET scores Special Education Teachers, Secondary School highest on the Social, Investigative and Artistic interest areas, so the work mixes teaching, helping and working directly with other people with investigating, analysing and solving problems with ideas and data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ENFJ, ENFP, INFJ. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.