Teaching assistants

Detailed Occupation

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2024 Workforce

1.49M

Average Age

40.2

Average Salary

$27,388

Average Male Salary

$31,132

Average Female Salary

$26,581

About

Teaching assistants are most often employed by the Elementary & secondary schools industry. The average yearly wage for Teaching assistants was $27,388 in 2024.

The locations that employ the most Teaching assistants are NYC-Brooklyn Community District 12--Borough Park & Kensington PUMA, NY, Tippecanoe County--Lafayette & West Lafayette Cities PUMA, IN, and Alachua County (Central)--Gainesville City (Central) PUMA, FL. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Teaching assistants are Rockland County (West)--Spring Valley, Suffern Villages & Monsey PUMA, NY, NYC-Brooklyn Community District 12--Borough Park & Kensington PUMA, NY, and Middlesex County (East)--Cambridge PUMA, MA.

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

Employment

Employment and salary information for the Teaching assistants workforce. Teaching assistants workforce in 2024 was 1,487,087 people, of which 82.3% were women and 17.7% were men.

Teaching assistants are paid most in Ramsey County--St. Paul City (Southwest) PUMA, MN but are relatively concentrated in Rockland County (West)--Spring Valley, Suffern Villages & Monsey PUMA, NY.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

263,766

Male Workforce

± 12.6k

1,223,321

Female Workforce

± 27k

The Teaching assistants workforce in 2024 was 1,487,087 people (82.3% women and 17.7% men). This implies an average annual growth of 27% between 2018 (1,170,933) and 2024 (1,487,087).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Teaching assistants.

During 2024, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were District of Columbia ($38,673), New Jersey ($32,817), and New York ($32,424).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$27,388

AVERAGE WAGE

#491 in the ranking (2018)

$69,878

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2024, Teaching assistants earned an average of $27,388, $42,489 less than the average national salary of $69,878

The graph shows the ranking of Teaching assistants in relation to all Detailed Occupation in 2018.

In 2024, Teaching assistants had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.384, which is lower than the national average of 0.474. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Teaching assistants (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Teaching assistants compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Teaching assistants and on wages for those in the field. Elementary & secondary schools is the industry that employs the most Teaching assistants, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Teaching assistants, by average wage, is Motion pictures & video industries ($146,260).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

1.49M

2024 Workforce

± 29,795

4.98%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 2.73%

This graphic shows the share of Teaching assistants employed by various industries. Elementary & secondary schools employs the largest share of Teaching assistants at 76.5%, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 13.5% and Child day care services with 8.94%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Teaching assistants in the US. The workforce of Teaching assistants in 2024 was 1,487,087 people, with 82.3% woman, and 17.7% men. The average age of male Teaching assistants in the workforce is 33.9 and of female Teaching assistants is 41.6, and the most common race/ethnicity for Teaching assistants is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Teaching assistants in 2024 was 1,487,087 people, with 82.3% woman, and 17.7% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 20 to 24 years (237,638 people), 25 to 29 years (187,767 people), and 30 to 34 years (147,584 people). Among them they concentrated 38.5% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2024, 20.3% of Teaching assistants workers were Hispanic and 79.7% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (57.4%), Puerto Rican (12.4)%, and All Other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino (4.86)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2024, 58.8% of the Teaching assistants workforce were White, of which 84.8% were women and 15.2% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (11.9%).

Education & Skills

Data on higher education choices for Teaching assistants from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Teaching assistants is Education but the most specialized major according to RCA in 2024 were Human Sciences.

Majors

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

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Teaching assistants in 2024 (counting all academic degrees) were Education (77,727 people), Business (55,058 people), and Psychology (38,995 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Teaching assistants workers were High School or Equivalent (387,277 people), Some college (357,842 people), and Bachelors Degree (338,976 people).

The graphic shows the Teaching assistants workforce by gender and educational level.