1
Median pay
$64,580
Median annual pay for High School Teacher.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
Headline employment growth can look weak while replacement openings and real-world shortages remain large; turnover and working conditions are essential to the story.
Headline employment growth can look weak while replacement openings and real-world shortages remain large; turnover and working conditions are essential to the story.
The measurable baseline is $64,580 median pay, -1.6% projected employment change from 2024 to 2034, and about 66,200 annual openings. Those figures establish the national baseline; the occupation-specific evidence on this page is what makes the decision more useful than a generic profile.
The national median-pay figure in the current ChooseField dataset is $64,580. The 2024 self-employed share is 0%, which matters because self-employment can make outcomes less uniform across workers. A national median is a benchmark, not a personal forecast: experience, geography, employer type, specialty, credentials, and hours can move actual compensation materially.
BLS data in the ChooseField corpus put 2024 employment at 1,094,500 and projected 2034 employment at 1,076,700. That corresponds to 1.6% projected decline over the decade. BLS projects about 66,200 openings per year, including growth and replacement demand. This distinction matters when people ask whether a field is oversaturated: growth measures whether the occupation itself is getting larger, while annual openings also reflect people retiring, changing occupations, or leaving roles that must be refilled.
BLS lists the typical entry education as Bachelor's degree. Treat this entry path like an investment: compare the time and cost required to enter with the pay, annual openings, and alternatives available at a similar training level.
Turnover is central to the market. The headline figure is 15.1%. Teacher movers plus leavers in Learning Policy Institute's national turnover analysis. Source: Learning Policy Institute (Latest national analysis).
Teaching shows why growth and openings are not the same thing. Replacement demand remains substantial, and turnover is a major part of the market. Working conditions and retention belong in the decision, not just the employment-growth percentage.
This field is a stronger fit if the compensation and credential requirements work for you and you value the work enough to accept a market where replacement demand and turnover matter as much as growth.
Before choosing High School Teacher, compare it with Elementary School Teacher, Preschool Teacher, Mental Health Counselor. The purpose is not to find a universal winner; it is to see how pay, training time, annual openings, work setting, and field-specific risks change when you move to an adjacent option.
Headline employment growth can look weak while replacement openings and real-world shortages remain large; turnover and working conditions are essential to the story. The measurable baseline is $64,580 median pay, -1.6% projected 2024–34 employment change, about 66,200 annual openings, and a typical entry path of Bachelor's degree.
BLS projects -1.6% employment change from 2024 to 2034 and about 66,200 openings per year. Growth and openings are different signals, so the field-specific evidence on this page should also be considered.
The national median in the current ChooseField dataset is $64,580. Treat that as a benchmark rather than an expected starting salary; actual compensation varies by experience, location, employer, specialty, credentials, and hours.
Headline employment growth can look weak while replacement openings and real-world shortages remain large; turnover and working conditions are essential to the story. The measurable baseline is $64,580 median pay, -1.6% projected 2024–34 employment change, about 66,200 annual openings, and a typical entry path of Bachelor's degree.
National pay and employment projections come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other sources are linked on their cards.