SalaryExplorer

SOC 25-2052 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School — Hanford

Hanford-Corcoran, CA · 10 metro areas compared

$81,750 /year
150jobs in area
+25.5%vs US median

The median wage for Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Hanford, CA is $81,750 per year, well above the national median of $65,120.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $65,12010TH$63,19025TH$75,050MEDIAN$81,75075TH$99,38090TH$118,200

How pay has moved

$93,805$59,6352019202020212022202320242025$81,750
$65,400 in 2019 to $81,750 in 2025, +25% 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
-1.8%
Openings per year
15,400
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 Hanford-Corcoran, 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 Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Hanford, CA is $81,750 per year, well above the national median of $65,120. The gap of 25.5% is among the widest recorded for this occupation. Pay ranges from under $63,190 at the tenth percentile to more than $118,200 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $75,050 to $99,380.

Employment stands at 150, or 3.1 jobs per thousand held locally. San Francisco leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $105,290. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 49th of 196 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Hanford-Corcoran, CA · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$63,190−3.0%
25th$75,050+15.2%
Median (50th)$81,750+25.5%
75th$99,380+52.6%
90th$118,200+81.5%
Mean$88,100+35.3%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in California

Median annual wage for Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1San Francisco$105,2903,440
2Oxnard$104,810490
3El Centro$99,020180
4Santa Maria$98,940300
5San Jose$98,640790
6Sacramento$98,3301,700
7Vallejo$98,260210
8San Diego$97,8601,970
9Merced$97,340160
10San Luis Obispo$97,260130

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Hanford sit close to the national average, so $81,750 is worth roughly its face value against pay elsewhere.

Published median

$81,750as reported by BLS

Local price level

101.6US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$80,463US average = 100 · BEA 2024

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

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $81,750 a year, 25.5% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $63,190 to $118,200 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 150 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is San Francisco, at $105,290.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Hanford, CA?

The median annual wage is $81,750, 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 $65,120, so pay in Hanford, CA is 25.5% 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 Hanford, CA earns more than $118,200 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $63,190 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 San Francisco, at $105,290 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 150 jobs in this occupation in Hanford, 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.

Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School in Hanford, CA Earn $81,750 — 25.5% Above the US Median (2025) | Salary Explorer