Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School · SOC 25-2052

Highest-Paying Metro Areas for Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary Schools

Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025U.S. metropolitan areas

Metro areas ranked by published median annual wage for special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school. 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 335 metro areas

Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School: metro areas with the highest published median annual wages, May 2025
#	Metro area	Median annual	Employment	Per 1,000 jobs
1	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$105,290	3,440	1.4
2	Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	$104,810	490	1.5
3	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	$100,150	1,740	0.8
4	Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA	$99,840	60	1.1
5	El Centro, CA	$99,020	180	2.7
6	Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	$98,940	300	1.5
7	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	$98,640	790	0.7
8	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	$98,330	1,700	1.6
9	Vallejo, CA	$98,260	210	1.5
10	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	$97,860	1,970	1.3
11	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	$97,410	4,980	1.8
12	Merced, CA	$97,340	160	2.1
13	San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	$97,260	130	1.1
14	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	$96,970	6,410	1.0
15	Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	$96,290	770	1.9
16	Fresno, CA	$95,950	700	1.5
17	Bellingham, WA	$95,610	110	1.2
18	Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA	$95,040	130	1.4
19	Yuba City, CA	$94,260	130	2.6
20	Napa, CA	$92,970	60	0.7
21	Redding, CA	$92,820	170	2.4
22	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$91,840	3,140	1.8
23	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	$91,610	22,270	2.3
24	Chico, CA	$91,510	160	2.0
25	Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	$87,550	260	2.1

Full state and metro tables, the national distribution, and the pay map are on the Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School 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.