Special Education Teachers, All Other · SOC 25-2059
Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Special Education Teachers, All Others
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas
Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for special education teachers, all other. Areas where BLS suppressed the median are not ranked. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Top 25 of 107 metro areas
| # | Metro area | Median annual | Employment | Per 1,000 jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salinas, CA | $112,900 | 200 | 1.1 |
| 2 | Vallejo, CA | $110,000 | 110 | 0.7 |
| 3 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $109,600 | 4,230 | 0.7 |
| 4 | Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | $107,390 | 140 | 0.7 |
| 5 | Visalia, CA | $107,190 | 200 | 1.1 |
| 6 | Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $106,650 | 100 | 0.5 |
| 7 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | $106,510 | 50 | 0.4 |
| 8 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $102,870 | 410 | 0.3 |
| 9 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $101,850 | 580 | 0.3 |
| 10 | Modesto, CA | $101,030 | 90 | 0.5 |
| 11 | Yuba City, CA | $100,020 | 70 | 1.4 |
| 12 | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $97,070 | 300 | 0.3 |
| 13 | Merced, CA | $96,560 | 70 | 0.9 |
| 14 | Fresno, CA | $95,120 | 290 | 0.6 |
| 15 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $95,120 | Not published | Not published |
| 16 | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA | $94,880 | 130 | 0.4 |
| 17 | Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | $88,810 | 500 | 0.5 |
| 18 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | $87,430 | 420 | 0.4 |
| 19 | Worcester, MA | $83,690 | 60 | 0.2 |
| 20 | Bend, OR | $83,190 | 40 | 0.4 |
| 21 | Salem, OR | $82,140 | 100 | 0.5 |
| 22 | Eugene-Springfield, OR | $82,050 | 90 | 0.6 |
| 23 | Valdosta, GA | $81,700 | 120 | 2.3 |
| 24 | Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | $81,330 | 30 | 0.0 |
| 25 | Flint, MI | $80,960 | 120 | 0.9 |
Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Special Education Teachers, All Other overview.
About this data. Estimates are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program, May 2025 release, retrieved from bls.gov/oes/tables.htm on July 24, 2026. OEWS estimates describe metropolitan/nonmetropolitan areas and states — not city limits — and are not designed for year-over-year comparisons. See BLS methodology, our plain-English methodology, and sources. CitySalaryData is independent and not affiliated with BLS.