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Secondary School Teachers vs Elementary School Teachers

Median pay is about $8k higher for Secondary School Teachers. Both usually start with the same education: bachelor's plus license.

marks the higher pay or growth. Education, difficulty and the AI rows depend on what you want, so they are not marked.

Secondary School Teachers compared with Elementary School Teachers: pay, outlook, entry and AI exposure
MeasureSecondary School TeachersElementary School Teachers
Pay
Median pay$72,040, higher$63,970
Entry pay 25th percentile$59,980, higher$57,710
Experienced pay 75th percentile$92,570, higher$81,450
Outlook, 2025 to 2035
Projected growth-0.2% Declining, higher-0.4% Declining
Openings a year63,50087,500
Getting in
Typical educationBachelor's plus licenseBachelor's plus license
Difficulty modeled2.8 / 52.8 / 5
AI
Displacement risk modeledModerateLow
AI exposure modeled, percentile81st pct62nd pct

Skills

Both lean on the same top skills: reading comprehension, active listening, speaking, learning strategies, critical thinking, monitoring.

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Pay and outlook: BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills: O*NET 30.3. Difficulty, displacement risk and AI exposure are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.