Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education · SOC 25-2021
Elementary School Teacher Salary in the Lancaster Metro Area
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025Lancaster, PA metro area
Figures describe the Lancaster, PA metropolitan statistical area as defined by BLS/OMB — the whole multi-county metro region, not Lancaster city limits.
BLS publishes only annual wages for this occupation (workers typically work fewer than 2,080 hours per year).
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in the Lancaster, PA metro area earned a median of $78,360 per year as of the May 2025 BLS OEWS estimates. Pay ranged from $60,740 at the 10th percentile to $93,600 at the 90th. BLS estimates 2,350 people work in this occupation in the area.
Pay distribution
Half of Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education in the Lancaster metro area earn more than $78,360 per year, half earn less; the middle half earn between $62,720 and $80,100.
| Wage | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual | $60,740 | $62,720 | $78,360 | $80,100 | $93,600 |
A percentile is a cut point: 25% of workers in this occupation and area earn less than the 25th-percentile wage. The median is the 50th percentile — half earn less, half earn more.
How this area compares
- Lancaster metro areathis metro area$78,360 median for Lancaster metro area; middle half earns $62,720 to $80,100
- Pennsylvaniastate (PA)$77,060 median for Pennsylvania; middle half earns $61,380 to $88,660
- United Statesnational$63,970 median for United States; middle half earns $57,710 to $81,450
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
The median here is +2% vs Pennsylvania overall and +22% vs the U.S. median for this occupation.
Where this metro sits nationally
Each dot is one metro area with a published median — hover any dot for the name and figure. Metros without published estimates are not drawn.
The Lancaster metro area has the 69th-highest published median for this occupation among the 383 metro areas where BLS publishes it. Higher medians often track higher living costs — this is a pay comparison, not a ranking of where the job is “best”.
Other metro areas in Pennsylvania
Metro areas in the same state with published May 2025 medians for elementary school teachers, except special education, highest first. Areas without published estimates are not listed.
- Lancaster metro areathis page$78,360 median for Lancaster metro area; middle half earns $62,720 to $80,100
- $79,860 median for Reading metro area; middle half earns $61,020 to $83,870
- $79,730 median for York metro area; middle half earns $61,210 to $92,810
- $79,040 median for Allentown metro area; middle half earns $62,750 to $96,220
- $78,570 median for Philadelphia metro area; middle half earns $61,300 to $97,410
- $77,160 median for Harrisburg metro area; middle half earns $61,760 to $78,620
- $76,760 median for State College metro area; middle half earns $61,520 to $91,410
Bars span the 25th–75th percentile (the middle half of workers); the tick marks the median.
Keep exploring
Other occupations in the same SOC group with published medians here, largest employment first:
Highest-paying metro areas for elementary school teachers · Highest-paying occupations in Lancaster Metro
About this estimate
These figures are survey estimates from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program — modeled from employer reports collected over three years and benchmarked to May 2025. They describe what employers in this area currently pay across all industries, not what any individual worker will be offered.
Employment counts wage-and-salary jobs in the occupation (self-employed workers are excluded). Estimates carry sampling error; percentile wages are rounded by BLS. Some values are suppressed by BLS for confidentiality or quality — suppressed values appear here as “not published”, never as zero. Read the full methodology.
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.