SalaryExplorer

SOC 25-2031 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education — El Centro

El Centro, CA · 10 metro areas compared

$99,440 /year
780jobs in area
+38.0%vs US median

In El Centro, CA the median wage for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education reaches $99,440 a year.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $72,04010TH$62,95025TH$79,230MEDIAN$99,44090TH$127,780

How pay has moved

$103,385$80,8552019202020212022202320242025$99,440
$92,150 in 2019 to $99,440 in 2025, +7.9% 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
-1.6%
Openings per year
66,200
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 El Centro, 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

In El Centro, CA the median wage for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education reaches $99,440 a year. That is 38.0% more than the national median of $72,040. Pay ranges from under $62,950 at the tenth percentile to more than $127,780 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $79,230 to $120,600.

Employment stands at 780, or 11.9 jobs per thousand held locally. Within the state, Oxnard records the highest median at $108,850. Of the 228 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 40th.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · El Centro, CA · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$62,950−12.6%
25th$79,230+10.0%
Median (50th)$99,440+38.0%
75th$120,600+67.4%
90th$127,780+77.4%
Mean$96,750+34.3%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in California

Median annual wage for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Oxnard$108,8502,210
2San Jose$108,2304,130
3Sacramento$105,0606,040
4San Francisco$102,88011,520
5Santa Maria$102,8401,060
6San Diego$102,8106,690
7Vallejo$102,590800
8Napa$102,510300
9Hanford$102,010730
10Modesto$101,8901,900

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in El Centro run 4.8% below the national average, so the median of $99,440 goes as far as $104,454 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 45.0% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$99,440as reported by BLS

Local price level

95.2US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$104,454US average = 100 · BEA 2024

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

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $99,440 a year, 38.0% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $62,950 to $127,780 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 780 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Oxnard, at $108,850.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education in El Centro, CA?

The median annual wage is $99,440, 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 $72,040, so pay in El Centro, CA is 38.0% 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 El Centro, CA earns more than $127,780 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $62,950 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 Oxnard, at $108,850 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 780 jobs in this occupation in El Centro, 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.