SOC 25-2058 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School — New York
New York · 10 metro areas compared
Median pay for this occupation in New York comes to $89,310 a year, ahead of the national median of $74,260 by 20.3%.
Wage distribution · annual
Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners
How pay has moved
The next ten years
Projected to decline
- Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
- -1.6%
- Openings per year
- 11,100
- 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 New York.
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
Median pay for this occupation in New York comes to $89,310 a year, ahead of the national median of $74,260 by 20.3%. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $75,470 and $130,550. The lowest tenth earn under $60,740, while the highest tenth earn more than $134,460.
The area has 15,250 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 1.49 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Among the 51 states with published data for this occupation, New York ranks 6th by median wage. New York leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $100,430. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 237th of 776 by median pay.
Percentile breakdown
| Percentile | Annual | vs US median |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $60,740 | −18.2% |
| 25th | $75,470 | +1.6% |
| Median (50th) | $89,310 | +20.3% |
| 75th | $130,550 | +75.8% |
| 90th | $134,460 | +81.1% |
| Mean | $95,910 | +29.2% |
Highest-paying metro areas in New York
| # | Metro area | Median | Jobs | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York | $100,430 | 14,700 | |
| 2 | Kiryas Joel | $94,130 | 560 | |
| 3 | Albany | $82,220 | 740 | |
| 4 | Kingston | $82,120 | 170 | |
| 5 | Elmira | $78,170 | 60 | |
| 6 | Binghamton | $77,550 | 160 | |
| 7 | Syracuse | $77,430 | 640 | |
| 8 | Utica | $77,210 | 270 | |
| 9 | Buffalo | $73,570 | 740 | |
| 10 | Glens Falls | $73,500 | 80 |
What the pay is worth locally
Prices in New York run 7.9% above the national average, so the median of $89,310 buys what $82,771 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 11.5% above the national median in real terms.
Published median
$89,310as reported by BLSLocal price level
107.9US average = 100 · BEA 2024Adjusted for local prices
$82,771US average = 100 · BEA 2024Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest
Key takeaways
- Median pay is $89,310 a year, 20.3% above the national median.
- Published pay spans $60,740 to $134,460 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
- The area has 15,250 jobs in this occupation.
- It ranks 6th of 51 states for this occupation.
- The highest-paying metro area covered is New York, at $100,430.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median wage for Special Education Teachers, Secondary School in New York?
The median annual wage is $89,310, 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 $74,260, so pay in New York is 20.3% 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 New York earns more than $134,460 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.
What is the starting range?
The tenth percentile wage is $60,740 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 New York, at $100,430 per year.
How many jobs are there in this occupation here?
The survey estimates 15,250 jobs in this occupation in New York. 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.
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