Special education teachers

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2019 Workforce

430k

Average Age

43.2

Average Salary

$52,261

Average Male Salary

$54,319

Average Female Salary

$51,915

About

Special education teachers are most often employed by the Elementary & secondary schools industry. The average yearly wage for Special education teachers was $52,261 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Special education teachers by wage are Legal support workers, all other, Architectural and civil drafters, and Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters.

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 Cherokee County (Central)Woodstock & Canton Cities PUMA, GA, Chittenden, Franklin & Grand Isle CountiesBurlington City PUMA, VT, and New City & Congers PUMA, NY. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Special education teachers are Cherokee County (Central)Woodstock & Canton Cities PUMA, GA, New City & Congers PUMA, NY, and Oyster Bay Town (Central) PUMA, NY.

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

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 Business, technical & trade schools and training. Special education teachers are paid most in Frederick County (Outside Greater Frederick City) PUMA, MD but are relatively concentrated in Cherokee County (Central)Woodstock & Canton Cities PUMA, GA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$52,261

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,074

In 2019, Special education teachers earned an average of $52,261, $3,263 less than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Legal support workers, all other make somewhat more than Special education teachers while Architectural and civil drafters make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Special education teachers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.284

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Special education teachers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.284, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Special education teachers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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.

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.

Industries

Most Common

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

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Special education teachers, by average wage, are Business, technical & trade schools and training, Individual & family services, Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Elementary & secondary schools, Elementary & secondary schools, Elementary & secondary schools, Child day care services, Residential care facilities, except skilled nursing facilities, Elementary & secondary schools, Elementary & secondary schools, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Administration of human resource programs, Other schools & instruction and educational support services, Child day care services, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, Business, technical & trade schools and training, and Outpatient care centers.

Industries by Share

430k

2019 Workforce

± 16,085

70.3%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.61%

The number of people employed as Special education teachers has been growing at a rate of 70.3%, from 252,751 people in 2018 to 430,466 people in 2019.

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 96.7%, followed by Child day care services with 0.861% and Other schools & instruction and educational support services with 0.52%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Special education teachers in the US. The average age of male Special education teachers in the workforce is 42.5 and of female Special education teachers is 43.3, and the most common race/ethnicity for Special education teachers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

62k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 6,113

368k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 14,884

85.6% 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.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Special education teachers

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

77% of Special education teachers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 9.67% 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.

Age by Gender

42.5

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 1.28

43.3

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.496

The median age of Special education teachers is 43.2, and Male employees are generally 0.785 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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

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 Active Listening. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Special education teachers need more than the average amount of Learning Strategies, Instructing, and Service Orientation.