SalaryExplorer

SOC 25-3031 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Substitute Teachers, Short-Term — Elkhart

Elkhart-Goshen, IN · 10 metro areas compared

$36,450 /year
$17.53per hour
280jobs in area
−12.5%vs US median

Median pay for this occupation in Elkhart, IN is $36,450 a year, trailing the national median of $41,670 by 12.5%.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $41,67010TH$30,380MEDIAN$36,45090TH$47,020

How pay has moved

$38,458$26,41320212022202320242025$36,450
$29,330 in 2021 to $36,450 in 2025, +24.3% 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
+1.6%
Openings per year
61,100
Typical entry-level education
Bachelor's degree

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

5.0% of people in this occupation work for themselves.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Elkhart-Goshen, IN.

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 Elkhart, IN is $36,450 a year, trailing the national median of $41,670 by 12.5%. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $35,870 and $36,850. The lowest tenth earn under $30,380, while the highest tenth earn more than $47,020.

The area has 280 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.66 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Within the state, Kokomo records the highest median at $37,220. Of the 307 occupations with published wages in this area, it sits 276th.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Elkhart-Goshen, IN · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$30,380−27.1%
25th$35,870−13.9%
Median (50th)$36,450−12.5%
75th$36,850−11.6%
90th$47,020+12.8%
Mean$37,870−9.1%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Indiana

Median annual wage for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Kokomo$37,220120
2Evansville$36,950270
3South Bend$36,420170
4Indianapolis$36,3602,920
5Fort Wayne$36,060860
6Lafayette$35,760350
7Bloomington$35,030230
8Muncie$34,730150
9Terre Haute$34,150170
10Michigan City$31,530270

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Elkhart run 9.7% below the national average, so the median of $36,450 goes as far as $40,365 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 3.1% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$36,450as reported by BLS

Local price level

90.3US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$40,365US average = 100 · BEA 2024

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

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $36,450 a year, 12.5% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $30,380 to $47,020 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 280 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Kokomo, at $37,220.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term in Elkhart, IN?

The median annual wage is $36,450, or $17.53 per hour, 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 $41,670, so pay in Elkhart, IN is 12.5% 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 Elkhart, IN earns more than $47,020 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $30,380 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 Kokomo, at $37,220 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 280 jobs in this occupation in Elkhart, IN. 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.