Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education Salary in Washington, DC (2024)
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area earn a median of $77,880 per year based on 20,140 jobs counted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2024. That is +20.6% against the national median of $64,580 for this occupation.
Pay distribution
The median is a single point on a wide curve. The table below shows where secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education actually sit across the pay range in Washington, DC, from the bottom decile to the top.
| Percentile | Hourly | Annual | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $24.43 | $50,820 | |
| 25th percentile | $30.08 | $62,560 | |
| Median | — | $77,880 | half earn more, half earn less |
| 75th percentile | $48.65 | $101,190 | |
| 90th percentile | $56.64 | $117,810 | |
| Average (mean) | — | $80,840 |
How Washington, DC compares
The local median of $77,880 runs +20.6% above the US median of $64,580 for this occupation; it pays 13.8% more than the metro-wide median across all jobs ($68,430); within the metro it ranks 277th of 703 detailed occupations by median pay.
| Benchmark | Median annual | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Washington, DC — this occupation | $77,880 | — |
| US median, same occupation (all areas) | $64,580 | +20.6% |
| Washington, DC — all occupations | $68,430 | +13.8% |
| Highest metro in the US for this job | $99,840 | -22.0% |
The location quotient of 0.93 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
High confidence The relative standard error on this estimate is 0.8%, which is a tight margin — the figure is stable enough to plan around.
Ranked 277th of 703 detailed occupations in the metro by median annual wage.
Highest-paying jobs in Washington, DC
To put $77,880 in context, these are the best-paid detailed occupations in the same metro area. This occupation sits 277th.
| Occupation | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Anesthetists | $225,340 | 390 |
| Family Medicine Physicians | $224,330 | 1,900 |
| General Internal Medicine Physicians | $223,030 | 1,740 |
| Psychiatrists | $219,970 | 570 |
| Ophthalmologists, Except Pediatric | $218,490 | 230 |
| Dentists, All Other Specialists | $199,990 | 150 |
| Computer and Information Systems Managers | $191,880 | 20,770 |
| Lawyers | $191,880 | 48,170 |
| Physicians, All Other | $191,880 | 11,170 |
| Nuclear Engineers | $189,770 | 300 |
Where secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education earn the most
Across the 25 metro areas with released data for this occupation, medians run from $51,670 to $99,840. These are the top markets.
| Metro area | Median annual | Employment |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $99,840 | 12,240 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | $99,740 | 6,440 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $99,530 | 7,450 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $99,260 | 77,530 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $97,970 | 27,900 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | $97,910 | 12,780 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | $95,220 | 20,760 |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $86,770 | 5,940 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | $80,440 | 34,720 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $78,440 | 25,520 |
See the full national picture on the Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education salary by metro page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median salary for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Washington, DC?
The median annual wage is $77,880. That means half of the secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education working in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area earn more than this figure and half earn less. The average is $80,840.
What do the highest and lowest paid secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education in Washington, DC earn?
The bottom 10% earn $50,820 or less, while the top 10% earn $117,810 or more — a spread of $66,990 between the two ends of the distribution. The middle half of workers sit between $62,560 and $101,190.
Is secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education pay in Washington, DC above the local average?
Yes, it is 13.8% above the all-occupation median for the metro, which is $68,430. That comparison is the fairer one for judging local purchasing power, because it holds the metro's overall cost and wage level constant.
How does Washington, DC pay compare with the rest of the US for this job?
At $77,880 the metro median is 20.6% higher than the US median of $64,580 for secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education. Across the 25 metro areas covered here, this occupation ranges from $51,670 to $99,840.
How many secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education work in Washington, DC?
BLS counts about 20,140 people in this occupation in the metro area, or 6.46 jobs per 1,000 total jobs. The location quotient of 0.93 is close to 1.0: the occupation's share of local employment tracks the national average.
About these figures
Figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey for 2024 (employment relative standard error 3.6%). OEWS measures what employers pay, not what any individual earns; it excludes self-employed workers, and it does not adjust for local cost of living.
Read the full methodology, or the original data at bls.gov/oes.