SalaryExplorer

SOC 25-1121 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary — Fresno

Fresno, CA · 8 metro areas compared

$135,970 /year
170jobs in area
+72.9%vs US median

The median wage for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary in Fresno, CA is $135,970 per year, well above the national median of $78,620.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $78,62010TH$66,61025TH$104,490MEDIAN$135,97090TH$171,190

How pay has moved

$145,130$90,1702019202020212022202320242025$135,970
$108,690 in 2019 to $135,970 in 2025, +25.1% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow more slowly than average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+1.7%
Openings per year
9,000
Typical entry-level education
Master's degree

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Fresno, CA.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

The median wage for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary in Fresno, CA is $135,970 per year, well above the national median of $78,620. The gap of 72.9% is among the widest recorded for this occupation. Pay ranges from under $66,610 at the tenth percentile to more than $171,190 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $104,490 to $170,770.

The area has 170 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 0.4 of every thousand jobs. Riverside leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $163,750. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 35th of 527 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Fresno, CA · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$66,610−15.3%
25th$104,490+32.9%
Median (50th)$135,970+72.9%
75th$170,770+117.2%
90th$171,190+117.7%
Mean$135,810+72.7%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in California

Median annual wage for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Riverside$163,750560
2Visalia$128,91040
3San Francisco$127,8001,050
4Sacramento$124,680370
5San Diego$101,010770
6San Jose$94,370690
7Los Angeles$91,4905,200
8Santa Maria$78,000140

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Fresno run 2.2% above the national average, so the median of $135,970 buys what $133,043 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 69.2% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$135,970as reported by BLS

Local price level

102.2US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$133,043US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $135,970 a year, 72.9% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $66,610 to $171,190 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 170 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Riverside, at $163,750.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary in Fresno, CA?

The median annual wage is $135,970, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $78,620, so pay in Fresno, CA is 72.9% higher. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Fresno, CA earns more than $171,190 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $66,610 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Riverside, at $163,750 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 170 jobs in this occupation in Fresno, CA. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.