Educational Instruction and Library Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 25-2051

Special Education Teachers, Preschool

The published band from $45,620 to $130,040 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Special Education Teachers, Preschool: Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary ($109K) , Geography Teachers, Postsecondary ($98K) , Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary ($98K) , Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary ($101K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Special Education Teachers, Preschool publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 25-2051 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Employ special educational strategies or techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills…
  2. 2. Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement
  3. 3. Communicate nonverbally with children to provide them with comfort, encouragement, or positive reinforcement
  4. 4. Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, or social skills, to preschool students with s…
  5. 5. Develop individual educational plans (IEPs) designed to promote students' educational, physical, or social development
  6. 6. Confer with parents, administrators, testing specialists, social workers, or other professionals to develop individual education plans (I…
  7. 7. Teach students personal development skills, such as goal setting, independence, or self-advocacy
  8. 8. Develop or implement strategies to meet the needs of students with a variety of disabilities
  9. 9. Observe and evaluate students' performance, behavior, social development, and physical health
  10. 10. Instruct and monitor students in the use and care of equipment or materials to prevent injuries and damage
  11. 11. Administer tests to help determine children's developmental levels, needs, or potential
  12. 12. Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among students

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

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 25-2051 - lead skill Speaking at 4.1 ; lead knowledge English Language. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Speaking 4.1
  2. 2. Active Listening 4.0
  3. 3. Reading Comprehension 3.9
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 3.9
  5. 5. Social Perceptiveness 3.9
  6. 6. Writing 3.8
  7. 7. Learning Strategies 3.8
  8. 8. Monitoring 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. English Language 4.5
  2. 2. Education and Training 4.2
  3. 3. Psychology 3.8
  4. 4. Public Safety and Security 3.4
  5. 5. Therapy and Counseling 3.3
  6. 6. Computers and Electronics 3.3
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$45,620 to $130,040
median $64,830 · ~2.9× spread
$65K
National median
↑ +1%
Growth 2024-2034
2,100
Annual openings
29,510
Estimated US jobs
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary
Highest-pay peer · $109K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Special Education Teachers, Preschool

1. Virginia $77,570
2. Washington $86,580
3. Maryland $85,010
4. Massachusetts $99,070
5. Vermont $79,000
6. Colorado $78,040
7. Connecticut $87,960
8. New Jersey $92,060
9. Pennsylvania $83,510
10. Alaska $80,390

Other Educational Instruction and Library Occupations titles

  1. 1. Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary $98,070
  2. 2. Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary $101,420
  3. 3. Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary $109,270
  4. 4. Geography Teachers, Postsecondary $97,590
  5. 5. Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary $107,310
  6. 6. Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $98,700

The OEWS band for Special Education Teachers, Preschool runs from $45,620 (10th) to $130,040 (90th), about 2.9× wide, with median $64,830. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect +1% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). About 2,100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor'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: Virginia at $77,570. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary at $109,270. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Special Education Teachers, Preschool pay-rank #47 in Educational Instruction and Library Occupations

On the Educational Instruction and Library Occupations median table (64 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Special Education Teachers, Preschool lands at #47, 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.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Special Education Teachers, Preschool is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Special Education Teachers, Preschool salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 25-2051

Virginia · top state for Special Education Teachers, Preschool

$78K published median

Washington · #2 state pay

$87K · behind Virginia

Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary

Highest-pay peer vs Special Education Teachers, Preschool · $109K

Geography Teachers, Postsecondary

Lower-pay peer beside Special Education Teachers, Preschool · $98K

Compare Special Education Teachers, Preschool

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Special Education Teachers, Preschool with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Special Education Teachers, Preschool land on the Educational Instruction and Library Occupations median table? ▼
Special Education Teachers, Preschool is pay-rank #47 of 64 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School ($65K), Archivists ($65K), Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School ($65K), Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education ($64K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do special education teachers, preschool do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Special Education Teachers, Preschool. Leading ones include: Employ special educational strategies or techniques during instruction to improve the development of sensory- and perceptual-motor skills…; Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement; Communicate nonverbally with children to provide them with comfort, encouragement, or positive reinforcement; Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, or social skills, to preschool students with s…. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for special education teachers, preschool? ▼
For SOC 25-2051, O*NET importance scores lead with Speaking (4.1), Active Listening (4.0), Reading Comprehension (3.9), Critical Thinking (3.9). Knowledge areas emphasize English Language, Education and Training, Psychology. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Special Education Teachers, Preschool? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $45,620 and the 90th at $130,040 for Special Education Teachers, Preschool (2.9× spread). The national median is $64,830. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Special Education Teachers, Preschool? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Special Education Teachers, Preschool is +1%. Projected annual openings: about 2,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Special Education Teachers, Preschool? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Special Education Teachers, Preschool. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Special Education Teachers, Preschool? ▼
Virginia ($77,570), Washington ($86,580), Maryland ($85,010) 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 Special Education Teachers, Preschool card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 25-2051. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Special Education Teachers, Preschool. 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