Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of substitute teacher salary by state for the United States:
-
Alaska has the highest substitute teacher salary of $39,750
-
South Carolina has the lowest substitute teacher salary of $21,742
-
The national average salary for substitute teachers is $32,904
-
The national hourly pay for substitute teachers is $15.82
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do substitute teachers get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for substitute teacher by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for substitute teachers after this adjustment? That would be Alaska.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for substitute teacher salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Substitute Teachers By State
| Rank | State | Average Substitute Teacher Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alaska | $39,750 | $29,000 | $53,000 |
| 2 | California | $38,660 | $26,000 | $56,000 |
| 3 | Washington | $38,025 | $25,000 | $56,000 |
| 4 | Oregon | $37,742 | $25,000 | $56,000 |
| 5 | North Dakota | $35,004 | $24,000 | $50,000 |
| 6 | Hawaii | $33,312 | $27,000 | $39,000 |
| 7 | Arizona | $33,237 | $23,000 | $47,000 |
| 8 | Nevada | $31,047 | $21,000 | $45,000 |
| 9 | New Mexico | $30,732 | $21,000 | $43,000 |
| 10 | Alabama | $30,559 | $21,000 | $43,000 |
| 11 | Vermont | $30,200 | $21,000 | $43,000 |
| 12 | Iowa | $30,148 | $21,000 | $42,000 |
| 13 | Michigan | $30,022 | $21,000 | $42,000 |
| 14 | Minnesota | $29,843 | $20,000 | $42,000 |
| 15 | New York | $29,641 | $20,000 | $42,000 |
| 16 | Colorado | $29,459 | $20,000 | $41,000 |
| 17 | Utah | $29,252 | $20,000 | $42,000 |
| 18 | Nebraska | $29,209 | $20,000 | $41,000 |
| 19 | South Dakota | $29,057 | $20,000 | $41,000 |
| 20 | Maine | $28,985 | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| 21 | Kansas | $28,828 | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| 22 | Idaho | $28,817 | $19,000 | $42,000 |
| 23 | Wyoming | $28,598 | $20,000 | $40,000 |
| 24 | Montana | $27,883 | $19,000 | $40,000 |
| 25 | Wisconsin | $27,158 | $19,000 | $38,000 |
| 26 | Pennsylvania | $27,108 | $18,000 | $38,000 |
| 27 | New Jersey | $27,045 | $18,000 | $38,000 |
| 28 | Massachusetts | $26,901 | $18,000 | $38,000 |
| 29 | Illinois | $26,722 | $18,000 | $37,000 |
| 30 | Virginia | $26,264 | $18,000 | $36,000 |
| 31 | Texas | $26,175 | $18,000 | $37,000 |
| 32 | West Virginia | $25,802 | $18,000 | $36,000 |
| 33 | Louisiana | $25,769 | $18,000 | $36,000 |
| 34 | New Hampshire | $25,742 | $17,000 | $36,000 |
| 35 | Tennessee | $25,690 | $18,000 | $35,000 |
| 36 | Rhode Island | $25,309 | $17,000 | $36,000 |
| 37 | Missouri | $24,960 | $17,000 | $34,000 |
| 38 | Connecticut | $24,792 | $17,000 | $35,000 |
| 39 | Arkansas | $24,573 | $17,000 | $34,000 |
| 40 | Oklahoma | $24,240 | $17,000 | $33,000 |
| 41 | Ohio | $24,050 | $17,000 | $33,000 |
| 42 | Delaware | $23,925 | $16,000 | $34,000 |
| 43 | Maryland | $23,734 | $16,000 | $33,000 |
| 44 | Mississippi | $23,362 | $16,000 | $33,000 |
| 45 | Indiana | $23,023 | $16,000 | $32,000 |
| 46 | Florida | $23,018 | $16,000 | $32,000 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $22,677 | $16,000 | $31,000 |
| 48 | North Carolina | $22,585 | $16,000 | $31,000 |
| 49 | Georgia | $22,084 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| 50 | South Carolina | $21,742 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
Methodology: Substitute Teacher Salary By State
To better understand substitute teacher pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for substitute teachers by state.
We took the average annual salary data for substitute teachers from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for substitute teachers.
Substitute Teacher Salary By State FAQs
-
What is the highest-paid state for substitute teachers?
The highest-paid state for substitute teachers is Alaska with an average salary of $39,750 per year.
-
What city pays substitute teachers the most?
San Francisco, CA pays substitute teachers the most with an average salary of $39,574 per year.
-
What is the worst state for substitute teachers?
The worst state for substitute teachers is South Carolina with an average salary of $21,742 per year.
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
