Educational Instruction and Library Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 25-2011

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

About 65,500 projected annual openings shape how to read Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education against Economics Teachers, Postsecondary, Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary, Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary, Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education: Economics Teachers, Postsecondary ($124K) , Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary ($93K) , Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary ($95K) , Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary ($107K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 25-2011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills
  2. 2. Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order
  3. 3. Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests
  4. 4. Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative…
  5. 5. Serve meals and snacks in accordance with nutritional guidelines
  6. 6. Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, and changing their diapers
  7. 7. Meet with parents and guardians to discuss their children's progress and needs, determine their priorities for their children, and sugges…
  8. 8. Organize and lead activities designed to promote physical, mental, and social development, such as games, arts and crafts, music, storyte…
  9. 9. Identify children showing signs of emotional, developmental, or health-related problems and discuss them with supervisors, parents or gua…
  10. 10. Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, and administrative regulations
  11. 11. Assimilate arriving children to the school environment by greeting them, helping them remove outerwear, and selecting activities of inter…
  12. 12. Observe and evaluate children's performance, behavior, social development, and physical health

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education: O*NET ranks Speaking first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 25-2011 - lead skill Speaking at 4.0 ; lead knowledge Education and Training. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 4.0
  2. 2. Instructing 4.0
  3. 3. Active Listening 3.9
  4. 4. Learning Strategies 3.9
  5. 5. Reading Comprehension 3.8
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 3.8
  7. 7. Monitoring 3.8
  8. 8. Social Perceptiveness 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Education and Training 4.0
  2. 2. English Language 3.8
  3. 3. Public Safety and Security 3.3
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 3.2
  5. 5. Psychology 3.1
  6. 6. Administration and Management 2.7
Projected annual openings
65,500
growth + transfers + exits
National median $38,140/yr
$38K
National median
↑ +4%
Growth 2024-2034
478,780
Estimated US jobs
Economics Teachers, Postsecondary
Highest-pay peer · $124K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Associate's degree

Top Paying States for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

1. New Jersey $48,220
2. California $47,400
3. New York $46,520
4. Alaska $46,130
5. Vermont $49,730
6. Nebraska $47,040
7. District of Columbia $62,150
8. Hawaii $48,780
9. Massachusetts $45,890
10. Kansas $47,750

Other Educational Instruction and Library Occupations titles

  1. 1. Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary $94,980
  2. 2. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary $107,310
  3. 3. Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary $101,420
  4. 4. Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $103,170
  5. 5. Economics Teachers, Postsecondary $123,920
  6. 6. Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary $93,250

Roughly 65,500 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education. Median pay is $38,140 in Educational Instruction and Library Occupations.

Employment Projections expect +4% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns Associate's degree as typical education needed for entry. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New Jersey at $48,220. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Economics Teachers, Postsecondary at $123,920. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education pay-rank #63 in Educational Instruction and Library Occupations

On the Educational Instruction and Library Occupations median table (64 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education lands at #63, in the lower third. That rank is a table position, not a statement about individual workers.

Other lower-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 25-2011 · national median $38,140 · lower third of Educational Instruction and Library Occupations (#63/64). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 25-2011

New Jersey · top state for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

$48K published median

California · #2 state pay

$47K · behind New Jersey

Economics Teachers, Postsecondary

Highest-pay peer vs Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education · $124K

Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary

Lower-pay peer beside Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education · $93K

Compare Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
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Openings and labor-flow next reads

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Labor-flow scale across occupations

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education land on the Educational Instruction and Library Occupations median table? ▼
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education is pay-rank #63 of 64 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary ($37K), Substitute Teachers, Short-Term ($42K), Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary ($43K), Tutors ($43K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do preschool teachers, except special education do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education. Leading ones include: Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills; Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order; Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests; Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for preschool teachers, except special education? ▼
For SOC 25-2011, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (4.0), Instructing (4.0), Active Listening (3.9), Learning Strategies (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize Education and Training, English Language, Public Safety and Security. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $38,140 as the national median for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education. The published 10th-90th range is $28,990 to $61,390. Beside Economics Teachers, Postsecondary ($123,920), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education is +4%. Projected annual openings: about 65,500. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education? ▼
New Jersey ($48,220), California ($47,400), New York ($46,520) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 25-2011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics