It’s a given that you don’t go into education to make lots of money. There’s a reason you hear people talk about teacher wages by saying, “is it good education money, or good normal people money?” Most would probably agree that’s not how it should be…but that’s just how it is.
Seattle has a LOT of educators in several different types of schools, colleges, and universities. Are they paid well? How does that stack up to other cities and regions?
Here are Five Fast Facts about education salaries in the Seattle area:
- 📉The Lowest - Seattle’s pre-school teachers have the unfortunate privilege of being the lowest paid teachers in the state at just over $38k. The good news: they’re still above the national average of $36k. #silverlining
- 📈The Highest - Seattle area college professors teaching “specialized healthcare” can pull in an eye-popping $176k! This is 6th highest among all metro areas nationwide and around $40k above the national average. We think this qualifies as actually making bank…
- 🧑🏫The Most Likely - If you’re looking for sheer volume of opportunity, think about high school ($88k) or elementary ($86k) teachers (not including Special Ed or technical education). There’s a lot of these jobs available and both pay about $20k higher than the national average. Best odds and way above the average?? That’s good math right there!
- 🌧️🚀The Most Rare - If you’re looking to be in an exclusive teacher club, look no further than jobs in museum-based education, cultural sciences teachers, or space/atmospheric teachers. There are less than 100 of these jobs in the area. Or maybe don’t - all of these except the museum folks make lower than the national average, some by a long shot. Not exactly out of this world, unfortunately.
- 😔The Historical Comparison - Unfortunately, teacher salaries in the Seattle area are about $2k less than ten years ago due to inflation. Thank you, federal government, for this lovely gift you’ve given us.😠
🔥Bottom line: Education has tremendous rewards beyond compensation, and that’s why many teachers do it. Still, good intentions don't exactly pay the bills, so it’s good to understand what kind of Paycheck you’re looking at in the field. Now you’re equipped to go forth and prosper…or not. Either way it’s up to you.
Does this salary info change your views on working in education?
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