Educational Instruction and Library Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 25-3031

Substitute Teachers, Short-Term

About 61,100 projected annual openings shape how to read Substitute Teachers, Short-Term against Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary, Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary, Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary, Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Substitute Teachers, Short-Term: Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary ($109K) , Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary ($95K) , Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary ($101K) , Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary ($97K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Substitute Teachers, Short-Term publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 25-3031 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Enforce school and class rules to maintain order in the classroom
  2. 2. Answer students' questions
  3. 3. Follow lesson plans designed by absent teachers
  4. 4. Take class attendance and maintain attendance records
  5. 5. Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, or assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms
  6. 6. Supervise students during activities outside the classroom, such as recess, lunch, and field trips
  7. 7. Organize and supervise games or other recreational activities
  8. 8. Teach social skills to students, such as communication, conflict resolution, and etiquette
  9. 9. Assist students with boarding or exiting school buses
  10. 10. Tutor or assist students individually or in small groups
  11. 11. Distribute or collect tests or homework assignments
  12. 12. Distribute teaching materials, such as textbooks, workbooks, papers, and pencils, to students

Substitute Teachers, Short-Term: O*NET ranks Reading Comprehension first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 25-3031 - lead skill Reading Comprehension at 3.6 ; lead knowledge English Language. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Reading Comprehension 3.6
  2. 2. Active Listening 3.6
  3. 3. Speaking 3.6
  4. 4. Social Perceptiveness 3.5
  5. 5. Critical Thinking 3.4
  6. 6. Monitoring 3.4
  7. 7. Instructing 3.4
  8. 8. Writing 3.1

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. English Language 4.1
  2. 2. Education and Training 3.3
  3. 3. Public Safety and Security 3.2
  4. 4. Customer and Personal Service 3.0
  5. 5. Computers and Electronics 2.9
  6. 6. Mathematics 2.8
Projected annual openings
61,100
growth + transfers + exits
National median $41,670/yr
$42K
National median
↑ +2%
Growth 2024-2034
524,770
Estimated US jobs
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary
Highest-pay peer · $109K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree

Top Paying States for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term

1. Hawaii $58,530
2. Alaska $66,920
3. Maryland $46,470
4. Minnesota $50,390
5. Rhode Island $45,590
6. District of Columbia $49,790
7. California $60,300
8. Oregon $58,280
9. West Virginia $49,020
10. Washington $55,740

Other Educational Instruction and Library Occupations titles

  1. 1. Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary $101,420
  2. 2. Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary $109,270
  3. 3. Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary $96,870
  4. 4. Physics Teachers, Postsecondary $100,310
  5. 5. Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary $94,980
  6. 6. Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary $103,170

Roughly 61,100 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term. Median pay is $41,670 in Educational Instruction and Library Occupations.

Employment Projections expect +2% change between 2024 and 2034 (about as fast as average vs baseline 3.1%). 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: Hawaii at $58,530. 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.

Substitute Teachers, Short-Term pay-rank #62 in Educational Instruction and Library Occupations

On the Educational Instruction and Library Occupations median table (64 detailed occupations with OEWS medians), Substitute Teachers, Short-Term lands at #62, 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 25-3031 · national median $41,670 · lower third of Educational Instruction and Library Occupations (#62/64). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

Substitute Teachers, Short-Term salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 25-3031

Hawaii · top state for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term

$59K published median

Alaska · #2 state pay

$67K · behind Hawaii

Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary

Highest-pay peer vs Substitute Teachers, Short-Term · $109K

Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary

Lower-pay peer beside Substitute Teachers, Short-Term · $95K

Compare Substitute Teachers, Short-Term

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Substitute Teachers, Short-Term with another occupation →

Openings and labor-flow next reads

Most Openings Rankings

Labor-flow scale across occupations

Compare openings side-by-side

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Substitute Teachers, Short-Term land on the Educational Instruction and Library Occupations median table? ▼
Substitute Teachers, Short-Term is pay-rank #62 of 64 in this major group, lower third of the median table. Closest lower-third titles: Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary ($43K), Tutors ($43K), Library Technicians ($45K), Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education ($38K). That position is a table rank, not a worker percentile.
What do substitute teachers, short-term do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term. Leading ones include: Enforce school and class rules to maintain order in the classroom; Answer students' questions; Follow lesson plans designed by absent teachers; Take class attendance and maintain attendance records. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for substitute teachers, short-term? ▼
For SOC 25-3031, O*NET importance scores lead with Reading Comprehension (3.6), Active Listening (3.6), Speaking (3.6), Social Perceptiveness (3.5). Knowledge areas emphasize English Language, Education and Training, Public Safety and Security. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $41,670 as the national median for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term. The published 10th-90th range is $28,560 to $65,790. Beside Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary ($109,270), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term is +2%. Projected annual openings: about 61,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: about as fast as average.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term? ▼
Hawaii ($58,530), Alaska ($66,920), Maryland ($46,470) 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 Substitute Teachers, Short-Term card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 25-3031. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term. 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