Elementary School Teacher Salary in 2027: Pay by State and Experience

How Much Does an Elementary School Teacher Make in 2027?

An elementary school teacher makes a median of $63,970 a year in 2027, or about $30.75 an hour, on the May 2025 federal wage survey. The salary range runs from $47,960 at the 10th percentile to $104,340 at the 90th, with median pay of $63,970 between them.

Elementary school teachers earn a median of $63,970 a year, and half of the roughly 1,388,390 teachers in the country earn more than that figure. Most work a nine- or ten-month contract, so the BLS hourly equivalent of $30.75 can mislead: teachers are not paid by the hour, and the figure leaves out the planning and grading that spill into evenings, weekends and the unpaid stretches of summer. The $72,650 mean sits above the median, pulled up by a long upper tail of veteran teachers in high-cost regions.

The spread of $56,380 between the lowest-paid and highest-paid tenth comes mostly from two things, geography and longevity. A first-year teacher in a rural, low-cost district sits near the bottom, and a teacher with 25 years of service and a master's degree in an expensive coastal district can approach or pass the top figure. What pushes someone up is rarely one raise. It is the accumulation of years on a salary schedule, extra graduate credits, stipends for coaching or department leadership and, in some districts, National Board certification.

Which States Pay Elementary School Teachers the Most in 2027?

Elementary school teachers earn the most in Washington, at $102,350, and the least in Oklahoma, at $48,200, across 50 states and the District of Columbia in the May 2025 survey.

Where a teacher works matters more than almost any other factor. Among the states and the District of Columbia, elementary school teachers earn the most in Washington at $102,350, California at $99,650, the District of Columbia at $96,580, Massachusetts at $94,000, Rhode Island at $90,930 and New York at $85,760. The lowest medians are in Oklahoma at $48,200, Mississippi at $49,790, South Dakota at $50,130 and Missouri at $50,910, so a teacher can come close to doubling a salary by crossing state lines, and even by changing districts inside one metro area.

Those raw numbers deserve a cost-of-living caveat. The states that pay the most also carry some of the highest housing and living costs in the country, so a $102,350 salary in Washington does not stretch as far as it sounds, while $48,200 in Oklahoma buys a good deal more house. Teachers weighing an out-of-state move should compare pay against local rents, home prices and state income taxes, not the headline figure alone.

How Does an Elementary School Teacher's Salary Change With Experience?

An elementary school teacher's salary follows one of the most transparent progressions of any profession, because most public districts publish a step-and-lane schedule. Steps are years of experience and lanes are education level, so a teacher's pay is largely predictable from the day a contract is signed. Early-career teachers cluster near the $47,960 that marks the lowest-paid tenth in lower-paying states and climb a step with each year served. Mid-career teachers tend to land nearer the $63,970 median, depending on the state and district.

Veterans who stay in the classroom for two or three decades, hold a master's degree and work in a well-funded district are the ones who approach $104,340. Reaching that band usually takes both time and added credits, since moving across lanes with graduate coursework is how teachers get ahead of the raises steps alone provide. Schedules also flatten near the top, so the jump from year 25 to year 30 is often smaller than the early climbs, and the fastest way to keep raising income after that point is usually a change of role.

How Does an Elementary School Teacher's Pay Compare With Other Education Careers?

Elementary school teachers rank 7th of the 8 education careers we cover by median pay. The $63,970 median is below the $72,040 for high school teachers and the $64,330 for school counselors, and well below the $77,440 for instructional coordinators, which is why coaching and curriculum roles attract teachers who want to keep growing their income.

What Do Salary Websites Say an Elementary School Teacher Earns?

Private salary sites put an elementary school teacher's pay between $52,101 at ZipRecruiter and $61,240 at Glassdoor. All five figures fall below the BLS median of $63,970, and the reason is method: the sites draw on job postings, pay that workers report themselves and their own models, while the federal survey counts what employers report for the teachers on their payroll.

What Drives an Elementary School Teacher's Pay?

An elementary school teacher's pay is driven first by the split between public and private schools. Public districts employ most elementary teachers and pay on a negotiated schedule with strong benefits, and they require a state license. Private and parochial schools often pay less than nearby districts, while charter schools vary more from one operator to the next.

Funding and size set the local scale. Suburban districts with a solid property-tax base tend to top the local pay range and can afford reading interventionists and coaches who lighten a teacher's load, while small rural districts pay less and ask teachers to cover more. Big-city systems vary widely in pay. The grade a teacher leads does not change pay: the district schedule sets it, so a fifth-grade teacher and a first-grade teacher with the same experience and degree earn the same.

How Can an Elementary School Teacher Earn More?

An elementary school teacher can raise a salary by earning a master's degree, adding an in-demand endorsement, pursuing National Board certification, moving to a higher-paying state or district or stepping into a leadership role.

• Earn a Master's Degree. Moving to a higher lane on the salary schedule by finishing a master's, often in reading, curriculum or educational leadership, is the most reliable way to raise base pay. In many districts the lane change is permanent and compounds with every later step.
• Add an In-Demand Endorsement. A certification in a shortage area such as special education, bilingual or English-language teaching, or reading intervention can qualify a teacher for stipends and make them far more employable in higher-paying districts.
• Pursue National Board Certification. The credential from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is recognized in many states and districts with an annual bonus or a bump on the pay scale. It takes a rigorous portfolio and assessment but pays back for teachers who plan to stay in the classroom.
• Move to a Higher-Paying State or District. State medians run from $48,200 in Oklahoma to $102,350 in Washington, so relocating is the fastest single lever on pay. Even inside one metro area, neighboring districts can differ by many thousands of dollars at the same step.
• Step Into a Leadership or Specialist Role. Becoming an instructional coach, curriculum lead, dean or assistant principal lifts pay above the classroom ceiling. These moves usually require added graduate coursework and an administrator license and trade daily teaching for adult coordination.

The degree behind the first raise is covered in the elementary school teacher career guide, and the elementary education ranking compares the fully online programs.