HOW MUCH DO MATH TEACHERS EARN?

Updated December 5, 2022 · 2 Min Read

What's a typical math teacher salary? This question is probably on your mind if you're interested in getting a job helping others to understand and appreciate this challenging subject. Let's take a close look at math teachers' typical earnings and the factors that influence them. College Math Teacher Salaries In 2016, median annual earnings for ...

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What's a typical math teacher salary? This question is probably on your mind if you're interested in getting a job helping others to understand and appreciate this challenging subject. Let's take a close look at math teachers' typical earnings and the factors that influence them.

College Math Teacher Salaries

In 2016, median annual earnings for all post-secondary level mathematical sciences teachers computed to $69,520 per year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The mean annual salary was $82,650. Colleges and universities paid their teachers the best salaries. Mean annual compensation for this group was $84,380 overall. Technical and trade schools offered far less attractive rates of pay. Mean earnings for math teachers in these schools were only $52,630 annually.

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High School Math Teacher Salaries

In 2016, high school teachers earned median annual salaries of $58,030, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 80 percent of all high school teachers earned salaries between $38,180 and $92,920. 10 percent had higher earnings than that and 10 percent had lower earnings.

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Influences on Math Teachers' Salaries

A variety of circumstances can affect math teachers' earnings:

  • College-level math teachers tend to earn higher salaries than high school math teachers do.
  • Experienced teachers tend to have higher earnings than new teachers do. Each additional year of teaching experience can boost a public high school teacher's salary by an average of 2.12 percent.
  • The National Center for Education Statistics has documented an economic advantage for public high school teachers who remain at the same school. They report higher average earnings of 0.86 percent for each additional year of experience specific to a single school.
  • Experts at the National Center for Education Statistics found a correlation between older age and higher paychecks for public high school teachers. On average, each year of age accounted for a .17 percent increase in pay.
  • Academic credentials matter a great deal to teachers' pay rates. A master's degree can boost a private school teacher's annual salary by an average of 8.2 percent and a public school teacher's salary by an average of 11.3 percent.
  • A teacher's major course of study at the undergraduate level can affect earnings to a significant degree. For public high school teachers, an undergraduate degree in mathematics corresponds to a paycheck that's higher by 2.37 percent on average.
  • State certification empowers 3 percent higher earnings for public school teachers. Certification does not typically influence private school teachers' salaries.
  • Geographic location has a dramatic influence on math teachers' salaries. In 2016, post-secondary mathematical science teachers in Fresno, California earned mean annual salaries of $134,500. In contrast, that same year, teachers in the mountains of North Carolina earned only $63,470 for doing essentially the same job.
  • Public high schools pay teachers 25 to 119 percent more than private schools do.
  • Male teachers tend to negotiate higher rates of pay than female teachers do. In public high schools, the average difference in pay for male versus female educators is 10-13 percent, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
  • Teachers who have joined unions tend to earn more than teachers who have not.

If you excel at math and have the necessary people skills to succeed as an educator, teaching math could be a satisfying choice of careers. Now that you're empowered with the facts about the typical math teacher salary ranges, you're in a better position to evaluate whether such a position would be worthwhile for you.

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