Special education teachers

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Total Workforce

253k

Average Age

42.6

Average Salary

$46,613

Average Male Salary

$53,855

Average Female Salary

$45,462

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Special education teachers are most often employed by the Elementary & secondary schools industry. The average yearly wage for Special education teachers was $46,613 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Special education teachers by wage are Automotive body & related repairers, Clergy, and Child, family, and school social workers.

Special education teachers are part of the Education, Training, & Library Occupations, along with Postsecondary teachers, Preschool & kindergarten teachers, Elementary & middle school teachers, Secondary school teachers, Special education teachers, and 7 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Special education teachers are Rockingham County (Southern)Portsmouth City PUMA, NH, Menard, Logan, De Witt, Piatt, Moultrie, Shelby & Christian Counties PUMA, IL, and York (West) & Cumberland (West) Counties PUMA, ME. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Special education teachers are Menard, Logan, De Witt, Piatt, Moultrie, Shelby & Christian Counties PUMA, IL, Essex County (Northwest) PUMA, NJ, and Rockingham County (Southern)Portsmouth City PUMA, NH.

Photo by Alex Proimos

Management, business, science, & arts occupations Education, legal, community service, arts, & media occupations Education, Training, & Library Occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Special education teachers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Elementary & secondary schools is the industry that employs the most Special education teachers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Special education teachers, by average wage, is Elementary & secondary schools. Special education teachers are paid most in Westchester County (Northeast) PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Menard, Logan, De Witt, Piatt, Moultrie, Shelby & Christian Counties PUMA, IL.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$46,613

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,244

In 2018, Special education teachers earned an average of $46,613, $7,276 less than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Automotive body & related repairers make somewhat more than Special education teachers while Child, family, and school social workers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Special education teachers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.288

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Special education teachers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.288, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Special education teachers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Special education teachers.

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Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Special education teachers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Special education teachers.

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Special education teachers, by number of employees, are Elementary & secondary schools, Other schools & instruction and educational support services, and Individual & family services.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Special education teachers, by average wage, are Elementary & secondary schools, Elementary & secondary schools, Child day care services, Residential care facilities, except skilled nursing facilities, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, and Business, technical & trade schools and training.

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Industries by Share

253k

2018 Workforce

± 12,333

-2.84%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 7.05%

The number of people employed as Special education teachers has been declining at a rate of -2.84%, from 260,133 people in 2017 to 252,751 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Special education teachers employed by various industries. Elementary & secondary schools employs the largest share of Special education teachers at 96.2%, followed by Other schools & instruction and educational support services with 0.795% and Individual & family services with 0.741%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Special education teachers in the US. The average age of male Special education teachers in the workforce is 42.3 and of female Special education teachers is 42.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Special education teachers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

34.6k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 4,569

218k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 11,458

86.3% of Special education teachers are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Special education teachers.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Special education teachers

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

74.6% of Special education teachers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 9.15% of Special education teachers, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Special education teachers.

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Age by Gender

42.3

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.67

42.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.666

The median age of Special education teachers is 42.6, and Male employees are generally 0.376 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Special education teachers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Special education teachers is Education but a relatively high number of Special education teachers hold a major in Education.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

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Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Special education teachers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Special education teachers need many skills, but most especially Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Special education teachers need more than the average amount of Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, and Learning Strategies.