Education & Library

ESL Teachers

SOC 25-3011

Teach English to speakers of other languages in schools and community programs.

The job

Median pay

$62k

$49k to $78k typical range

Outlook, 2025 to 2035

Declining

-14% projected

Openings a year

BLS projection

Typical education

Bachelor's plus cert

Our model

AI displacement risk

Moderate

How much of this job AI may do instead of the person

Works with AI

36/100

AI alongside the person rather than instead of them

AI exposure

87th pct

More exposed than 87% of occupations · modeled estimate · 60th pct in Microsoft's data

Future-proof

41/100

Take the next step

Weigh it against Self-Enrichment TeachersPay, outlook, entry and AI exposure side by side See where it pays mostCalifornia leads at $102k; every state is below Find careers like itOpen the map at ESL Teachers and explore its neighbours See open jobsESL Teachers roles hiring now Learn the skillsCourses for ESL Teachers, who lean most on reading comprehension Real pay & reviewsWhat ESL Teachers say they actually earn

Key skills

Reading Comprehension
Active Listening
Speaking
Learning Strategies
Writing
Monitoring

Pay and jobs by state

BLS OEWS May 2025, 51 states. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's. A tilde marks a figure estimated from the parent occupation group where BLS publishes none.

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
North Carolina	3,720	0.8	3.1×	$52k
Florida	3,670	0.4	1.5×	$59k
Minnesota	2,880	1.0	4.1×	$77k
New York	2,810	0.3	1.2×	$78k
Illinois	1,970	0.3	1.4×	$62k
Texas	1,830	0.1	0.5×	$49k
California	1,660	0.1	0.4×	$102k
Massachusetts	1,420	0.4	1.6×	$62k
New Jersey	1,350	0.3	1.3×	$81k
Washington	1,310	0.4	1.5×	$70k

All 51 states

State	Jobs	Per 1,000	vs national	Median pay
Wisconsin	1,050	0.4	1.5×	$65k
Colorado	820	0.3	1.2×	$51k
Pennsylvania	790	0.1	0.5×	$57k
Ohio	750	0.1	0.6×	$47k
Virginia	700	0.2	0.7×	$65k
Indiana	650	0.2	0.8×	$59k
Missouri	620	0.2	0.9×	$52k
Arizona	570	0.2	0.7×	$62k
Washington DC	570	0.8	3.4×	$63k
Michigan	560	0.1	0.5×	$60k
Oregon	510	0.3	1.1×	$66k
South Carolina	480	0.2	0.9×	$63k
Alabama	470	0.2	0.9×	$49k
Georgia	470	0.1	0.4×	$48k
Maryland	450	0.2	0.7×	$60k
Connecticut	410	0.2	1.0×	$72k
Iowa	370	0.2	1.0×	$48k
Kentucky	350	0.2	0.7×	$45k
Maine	330	0.5	2.1×	$59k
Hawaii	300	0.5	2.0×	$45k
Oklahoma	300	0.2	0.7×	$52k
Idaho	270	0.3	1.3×	$50k
West Virginia	250	0.4	1.5×	$65k
Mississippi	240	0.2	0.9×	$50k
Tennessee	240	0.1	0.3×	$60k
Arkansas	230	0.2	0.7×	$43k
New Mexico	210	0.2	1.0×	$49k
Delaware	200	0.4	1.7×	$79k
North Dakota	180	0.4	1.8×	$64k
Kansas	160	0.1	0.5×	$52k
Rhode Island	144	0.3	1.2×	$58k~
Nebraska	130	0.1	0.5×	$49k
Montana	110	0.2	0.9×	$57k
Louisiana	100	0.1	0.2×	$67k
South Dakota	100	0.2	0.9×	$36k
Wyoming	100	0.4	1.5×	$52k
Alaska	81	0.2	1.0×	$76k~
Vermont	70	0.2	1.0×	$63k
Utah	60	0.0	0.1×	$50k
New Hampshire	50	0.1	0.3×	$64k
Nevada	40	0.0	0.1×	$49k

Top metro areas

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ2,750 jobs · $84k median
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI2,040 jobs · $79k median
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL1,780 jobs · $63k median
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN1,510 jobs · $62k median
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC1,120 jobs · $58k median
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH980 jobs · $62k median
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV880 jobs · $63k median
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA730 jobs · $72k median

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Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.