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.
Tutor Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
Tutors earn a median of $43,350 per year ($20.84/hr) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Employment is projected to grow 0.6% through 2034, with about 37,100 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: Some college, no degree.
SOC 25-3041Educational Instruction and LibraryLast updated August 23, 2026
- Median pay
- $43,350
- Projected growth
- +0.6%
- Openings a year
- 37,100
- Typical education
- Some college
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Academic Coach, Academic Guidance Specialist, Accounting Tutor, Finance Tutor, Grade School Tutor, Private Mathematics Tutor.
How much do Tutors make?
10th percentile$29,430
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$35,000
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$43,350
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$54,860
Upper quartile
90th percentile$75,990
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $43,350 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $20.84/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $48,050 |
| People employed | 175,070 |
Versus all US occupations
At $43,350, Tutors earn 15% below the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $7,630 a year.
Versus educational instruction and library occupations
Inside the Educational Instruction and Library group, where the middle occupation pays $77,355, this is 44% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $75,990 or more while the bottom 10% earn $29,430, a gap of 2.6×. That is a typical spread for a US occupation.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 14% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Highest-paying state
Wyoming pays the most at $82,290, and still leads at $88,779 once local prices are taken into account.
Which states pay Tutors the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyoming | $82,290 | $88,779 | 200 |
| Rhode Island | $77,850 | $76,115 | 300 |
| Massachusetts | $60,900 | $57,585 | 4,610 |
| Vermont | $53,920 | $55,044 | 130 |
| New Hampshire | $53,790 | $51,639 | 700 |
| Maryland | $52,810 | $50,315 | 4,300 |
| Connecticut | $50,350 | $48,596 | 3,230 |
| Tennessee | $50,280 | $54,730 | 3,310 |
| Maine | $49,880 | $51,396 | 340 |
| Mississippi | $49,610 | $57,054 | 1,220 |
Is Tutor a growing career?
Tutors0.6%
All US occupations3.1%
+0.6% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
Slower than average
BLS projects employment of Tutors to change 0.6% over 2024–2034, against 3.1% projected for all occupations. That is 1,300 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 37,100 openings are projected each year, 17.2% of the 215,500 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Despite limited employment growth, about 37,100 openings for tutors are projected each year, on average, over the decade.
Most 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.
Employment growth for tutors will depend on the size of the student population requiring additional academic assistance. Demand for private tutoring services is projected to continue as students preparing for college strive to differentiate themselves from other applicants through academic achievement. Also, some applicants to graduate school programs will hire tutors to help them prepare for entrance exams. The ability of schools, students, and families to pay for tutoring services will impact future demand for these workers.
The introduction of generative artificial intelligence (AI) will somewhat reduce the need for tutors, since many of their regular activities can be completed by online software. Companies with large inventories of practice tests, assessments, and assignments for various academic subjects and standardized tests will be able to provide digital services that were previously only available with a personal or private tutor.
How to become a Tutor
There is no licence, no required certification and no minimum qualification for tutoring in the United States. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states directly that some employers do not require credentials. What gates paid work is subject knowledge and whoever is paying: tutors typically need to have completed some college coursework in the subjects they want to teach, some employers require a bachelor's degree in a field such as education, others prefer a degree closely related to the tutoring subject, and some prefer tutors who have teaching experience or a state-issued teaching certification even though none is required.
- How long the training takes
No minimum. Tutors typically need some college education in the subjects they want to teach, but some tutors, such as those still in high school, may have no college coursework and instead a strong background in a specific subject. Depending on the position, tutors may receive training on the job.
Licensing and state variation
Not a state license
No state licenses tutors. The nearest thing to a hard requirement is set by the employer or platform rather than by law: test preparation tutors usually need to have scored highly themselves on the standardized tests they help students prepare for, and student tutors in college may need a minimum grade point average or high grades in the subjects they tutor. A state teaching certification is treated as a preference by some employers, never as a condition of entry.
Credential detail for tutors is researched by hand from the bodies that issue it, not derived from BLS or O*NET. Sources last checked August 23, 2026. Requirements change: confirm with your own state board before enrolling in anything.
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Tutors, How to Become One · checked August 23, 2026
What the federal data says
Tutors typically need to have completed some college courses, specifically in the subjects that they want to teach. However, education requirements vary. Some employers do not require credentials; others prefer to hire tutors who have a bachelor's degree.
| Typical entry-level education | Some college, no degree |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Some 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 tutors.
- Bachelor's Degree40.9%
- Some College Courses36.4%
- High School Diploma9.1%
- Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree)9.1%
- Master's Degree4.6%
What does a Tutor do?
Instruct individual students or small groups of students in academic subjects to support formal class instruction or to prepare students for standardized or admissions tests.
Tutors instruct students individually or in small groups to support formal class instruction or improve academic performance. Some tutors prepare students for standardized or admissions tests.
Day-to-day tasks
- Provide feedback to students, using positive reinforcement techniques to encourage, motivate, or build confidence in students.
- Review class material with students by discussing text, working solutions to problems, or reviewing worksheets or other assignments.
- Assess students' progress throughout tutoring sessions.
- Teach students study skills, note-taking skills, and test-taking strategies.
- Provide private instruction to individual or small groups of students to improve academic performance, improve occupational skills, or prepare for academic or occupational tests.
- Participate in training and development sessions to improve tutoring practices or learn new tutoring techniques.
- Schedule tutoring appointments with students or their parents.
- Organize tutoring environment to promote productivity and learning.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Working conditions and hours
Most tutors work part time, and their schedules may vary. For example, they may work evenings and weekends and may have more hours during the school year or leading up to standardized test dates. Because such schedules are common, many of these workers hold other jobs or attend school outside of their tutoring hours.
Where the work happens
- Indoors, in a climate-controlled space, every day
Physical demands
- Seated for more than half the working day
Working with people
- Constant contact with other people
- Face-to-face discussions every day
Pressure and stakes
- Mistakes are not usually serious
Autonomy
- A lot of freedom to make decisions without checking first
Schedules: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition. Conditions: O*NET Work Context survey, showing only the signals people in the job report decisively one way or the other.
Where tutors work
| Other schools and instruction; private | 31% |
|---|---|
| Elementary and secondary schools; local | 14% |
| Self-employed workers | 14% |
| Educational support services; private | 7% |
| Colleges, universities, and professional schools; state | 5% |
BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2024–2034 edition.
Core skills
- Reading Comprehension4.1/5
- Active Listening4.0/5
- Speaking4.0/5
- Learning Strategies4.0/5
- Critical Thinking3.8/5
- Writing3.6/5
- Active Learning3.6/5
- Monitoring3.5/5
Transferable skills
- Instructing4.1/5
- Social Perceptiveness3.8/5
- Complex Problem Solving3.6/5
- Service Orientation3.4/5
- Judgment and Decision Making3.3/5
- Time Management3.1/5
- Coordination3.0/5
- Persuasion3.0/5
Tools and software
- Office suite 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
- Calendar and scheduling software
- Cloud-based data access and sharing software
- Computer based training software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Electronic mail 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 Tutor?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realistic2.3
Investigative2.9
Artisticprimary3.1
Socialprimary6.8
Enterprising1.7
Conventionalprimary3.4
Day to day this is work built around teaching, helping and working directly with other people, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with 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.
Tutor: frequently asked questions
How much do Tutors make?
Tutors earn a median of $43,350 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 15% below the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $20.84/hr. The middle half earn between $35,000 and $54,860. The top 10% earn $75,990 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Tutor?
Not necessarily. BLS lists "some college, no degree" as the typical entry-level education for Tutors. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 40.9% hold bachelor's degree.
Is Tutor a growing career?
It is growing, but slowly: 0.6% over 2024–2034 against 3.1% for all occupations (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 37,100 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Tutor do?
Tutors instruct students individually or in small groups to support formal class instruction or improve academic performance. A core O*NET task: provide feedback to students, using positive reinforcement techniques to encourage, motivate, or build confidence in students. Employers most often ask for Office suite software, Presentation software, Spreadsheet software.
Which states pay Tutors the most?
The highest state medians for Tutors are Wyoming ($82,290), Rhode Island ($77,850), Massachusetts ($60,900) (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
What personality type suits a Tutor?
O*NET scores Tutors highest on the Social, Conventional and Artistic interest areas, so the work mixes teaching, helping and working directly with other people with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping the closest types are ENFJ, ESFJ, ESFP. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.
How long does it take to become a Tutor?
No minimum. Tutors typically need some college education in the subjects they want to teach, but some tutors, such as those still in high school, may have no college coursework and instead a strong background in a specific subject. Depending on the position, tutors may receive training on the job.
Do you need a license to work as a Tutor?
Not a state license. No state licenses tutors. The nearest thing to a hard requirement is set by the employer or platform rather than by law: test preparation tutors usually need to have scored highly themselves on the standardized tests they help students prepare for, and student tutors in college may need a minimum grade point average or high grades in the subjects they tutor. A state teaching certification is treated as a preference by some employers, never as a condition of entry.