Special education teachers

Detailed Occupation

Add Comparison

2021 Workforce

370k

Average Age

43.2

Average Salary

$54,379

Average Male Salary

$57,589

Average Female Salary

$53,831

About

Special education teachers are most often employed by the Elementary & secondary schools industry. The average yearly wage for Special education teachers was $54,379 in 2021.

The locations that employ the most Special education teachers are Perry Hall, Middle River & Rosedale PUMA, MD, New City & Congers PUMA, NY, and Providence CountyPawtucket & Central Falls Cities PUMA, RI. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Special education teachers are New City & Congers PUMA, NY, Perry Hall, Middle River & Rosedale PUMA, MD, and Hempstead Town (Southwest) & Long Beach City PUMA, NY.

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations Education, Training, & Library Occupations

Employment and salary information for the Special education teachers workforce. Special education teachers workforce in 2021 was 369,848 people, of which 85.4% were women and 14.6% were men. Special education teachers are paid most in Philadelphia City (East) PUMA, PA but are relatively concentrated in New City & Congers PUMA, NY.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

53,908

Male Workforce

± 5.7k

315,940

Female Workforce

± 13.8k

The Special education teachers workforce in 2021 was 369,848 people (85.4% women and 14.6% men). This implies an average annual growth of 49.1% between 2014 (248,025) and 2021 (369,848).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Special education teachers.

During 2021, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were New York ($69,490), District of Columbia ($68,192), and New Jersey ($65,835).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$54,379

AVERAGE WAGE

#249 in the ranking (2021)

$59,596

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2021, Special education teachers earned an average of $54,379, $5,216 less than the average national salary of $59,596

The graph shows the ranking of Special education teachers in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2021.

Wage Distribution

Gender

0.274

WAGE GINI

In 2021, Special education teachers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.274, which is lower than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Special education teachers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Special education teachers compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Special education teachers and on wages for those in the field. Elementary & secondary schools is the industry that employs the most Special education teachers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Special education teachers, by average wage, is Business, technical & trade schools and training ($63,340).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

370k

2021 Workforce

± 14,912

10.3%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 5.3%

This graphic shows the share of Special education teachers employed by various industries. Elementary & secondary schools employs the largest share of Special education teachers at 98.7%, followed by Child day care services with 0.773% and Individual & family services with 0.521%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Special education teachers in the US. The workforce of Special education teachers in 2021 was 369,848 people, with 85.4% woman, and 14.6% men. The average age of male Special education teachers in the workforce is 42.2 and of female Special education teachers is 43.3, and the most common race/ethnicity for Special education teachers is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Special education teachers in 2021 was 369,848 people, with 85.4% woman, and 14.6% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 35 to 39 years (48,278 people), 40 to 44 years (46,992 people), and 45 to 49 years (46,403 people). Among them they concentrated 38.3% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2021, 10.2% of Special education teachers workers were Hispanic and 89.8% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (76.4%), Puerto Rican (17.3)%, and Cuban (6.31)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2021, 79.8% of the Special education teachers workforce were White, of which 85.9% were women and 14.1% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (9.36%) and Two or More Races (5.22%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Special education teachers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Special education teachers is Education but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2021 were Education.

Among the necessary skills for Special education teachers, Active Listening stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Special education teachers need more than the average amount of Learning Strategies.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Special education teachers in 2021 (counting all academic degrees) were Education (179,216 people), Psychology (23,960 people), and Business (18,706 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Special education teachers workers were Graduate Degree (189,981 people), Bachelors Degree (132,425 people), and Some college (19,783 people).

The graphic shows the Special education teachers workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Special education teachers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Special education teachers need many skills, but most especially Active Listening, Social Perceptiveness, Speaking.