Secondary school teachers: how women's and men's pay compare
Among full-time, year-round secondary school teachers in the United States, women had a median of $65,587 in 2024 and men had $68,403. Women's median was 95.9% of men's (margin of error ±2.2%). The $2,816 difference is larger than its margin of error (±$1,532), so it is statistically distinguishable from zero at the 90% level the Census Bureau uses. That is a narrower ratio than the 83.1% for all full-time, year-round workers ($55,678 vs $66,965, Census table B20017).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, tables B24122/B24123/B24125/B24126. Full-time, year-round civilian workers 16+, 2024 dollars. Retrieved 2026-10-09. ± values are 90% margins of error.
Where this occupation sits
About 527,259 women and 408,741 men worked full-time, year-round in this occupation, so women were 56.3% of the group (±0.7%). That makes it a majority-women occupation, ranked #17 of 40 in this set by women's share.
Among the 40 large occupations in this set, it ranks #1 for the smallest gap (women's median as a share of men's; #1 is closest to equal), #18 for women's median earnings, and #36 for the largest dollar difference.
Occupations with a similar share of women
| Occupation | Women | Men | Women/men | Women's share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accountants and auditors | $80,005 | $100,168 | 79.9% | 58% |
| Financial managers | $82,680 | $124,972 | 66.2% | 55% |
| Postsecondary teachers | $81,358 | $94,259 | 86.3% | 48% |
Occupations with a similar pay ratio
| Occupation | Women | Men | Women/men | Women's share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Security guards and gambling surveillance officers | $40,033 | $42,103 | 95.1% | 24% |
| First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers | $77,136 | $81,827 | 94.3% | 36% |
| Stockers and order fillers | $34,483 | $36,695 | 94.0% | 37% |
What this number does and doesn't tell you
- These are unadjusted medians for people who worked full-time, year-round. They do not control for hours beyond full-time, years of experience, seniority, employer, location, or the specific jobs inside the occupation group.
- A gap here is a description, not proof of discrimination, and the absence of a gap does not prove equal treatment. Estimates come from a sample survey, which is why every figure has a margin of error.
- The Census Bureau groups jobs into detailed occupations; "Secondary school teachers" is the Bureau's category and may combine jobs you think of as different.
- For a specific state, see the state pay-gap pages. To compare any two jobs, use the pay-gap lookup tool. For how we work with data, see our methodology.