SalaryExplorer

SOC 25-2022 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education — Owensboro

Owensboro, KY · 5 metro areas compared

$63,070 /year
250jobs in area
−2.0%vs US median

The median wage here is $63,070 a year, within a few percent of the national median of $64,370.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $64,37010TH$47,840MEDIAN$63,07075TH$65,68090TH$74,160

How pay has moved

$65,450$51,5302019202020212022202320242025$63,070
$53,850 in 2019 to $63,070 in 2025, +17.1% 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 decline

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
-2.0%
Openings per year
40,500
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor'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 Owensboro, KY.

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 here is $63,070 a year, within a few percent of the national median of $64,370. Half of workers earn between $49,350 and $65,680. Beyond that band, the tenth percentile sits at $47,840 and the ninetieth at $74,160.

The area has 250 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 5.1 of every thousand jobs. Lexington leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $65,150. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 59th of 197 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Owensboro, KY · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$47,840−25.7%
25th$49,350−23.3%
Median (50th)$63,070−2.0%
75th$65,680+2.0%
90th$74,160+15.2%
Mean$60,350−6.2%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Kentucky

Median annual wage for Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Lexington$65,1501,130
2Paducah$62,470220
3Louisville/Jefferson County$61,6102,350
4Bowling Green$61,600310
5Elizabethtown$61,220240

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Owensboro run 11.4% below the national average, so the median of $63,070 goes as far as $71,185 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 10.6% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$63,070as reported by BLS

Local price level

88.6US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$71,185US average = 100 · BEA 2024

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

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $63,070 a year, 2.0% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $47,840 to $74,160 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 250 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Lexington, at $65,150.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in Owensboro, KY?

The median annual wage is $63,070, 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 $64,370, so pay in Owensboro, KY is 2.0% lower. 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 Owensboro, KY earns more than $74,160 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $47,840 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 Lexington, at $65,150 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 250 jobs in this occupation in Owensboro, KY. 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.