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Job outlook for private tutors in the United States
Private Tutor job and salary trends over time
Private Tutor jobs over time
Private Tutor job growth rate over time
| Year | # Of Jobs | % Of Population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 45,811 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 520,553 | 0.15% |
| 2019 | 728,354 | 0.22% |
| 2018 | 251,175 | 0.08% |
| 2017 | 251,957 | 0.08% |
Average private tutor salary over time
Private Tutor salary by year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $39,474 | $18.98 | +2.5% |
| 2024 | $38,510 | $18.51 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | $38,405 | $18.46 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | $37,719 | $18.13 | +1.7% |
| 2021 | $37,080 | $17.83 | +3.7% |
Private Tutor jobs by state
Most common states for private tutors
| Rank | State | Population | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 834 | 15% |
| 2 | Vermont | 623,657 | 90 | 14% |
| 3 | Delaware | 961,939 | 114 | 12% |
| 4 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 68 | 12% |
| 5 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 92 | 11% |
| 6 | Alaska | 739,795 | 84 | 11% |
| 7 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 102 | 10% |
| 8 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 152 | 9% |
| 9 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 126 | 9% |
| 10 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 97 | 9% |
| 11 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 66 | 9% |
| 12 | Maine | 1,335,907 | 113 | 8% |
| 13 | Nebraska | 1,920,076 | 133 | 7% |
| 14 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 214 | 6% |
| 15 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 282 | 5% |
| 16 | Arkansas | 3,004,279 | 137 | 5% |
| 17 | Mississippi | 2,984,100 | 136 | 5% |
| 18 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 111 | 5% |
| 19 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 96 | 5% |
| 20 | Hawaii | 1,427,538 | 68 | 5% |
Private Tutor job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of private tutor experts
Texas Christian University
University of North Dakota
University of Washington
Oklahoma State University
New York University
Wabash College
Northern Arizona University
Davidson College
Capital University
Cabrini University
Arkansas Tech University
University of Michigan
San Diego Mesa College
Haverford College
University of Louisville
King’s College
Purdue University
Franklin and Marshall College
What will help Private Tutors increase their earning potential?
Jo Jimerson Ph.D.: No matter how good your training was, you’ll encounter challenges in your first year. Even the best novice teacher is still a novice, so seek out professional learning above what’s required and don’t be afraid to ask questions of veteran educators. Find a mentor you vibe with, and who you respect—if you can’t identify someone, ask other teachers who they consider a professional model (or if you’re in a secondary school, ask the kids!). Ask your administrators to help with class coverage from time to time so you can sit in your mentor’s classes, to continue honing your craft. Most importantly, if you feel like teaching is really hard, don’t take that as a sign that you’re not destined to be a great teacher—it’s just a challenging profession! If you keep trying then by year 2 or 3 you’ll really feel like you have the hang of teaching.
What will help Private Tutors increase their earning potential?
Christopher Clark: 1) Try to get a sense of the relationship between the schools you apply to and the surrounding community. Make sure to ask how the schools' leaders support its teachers and mediates in moments where the community and the school disagree.
Dr. Nancy Bartley
LecturerUniversity of Washington
Romance Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
What will help Private Tutors increase their earning potential?
Dr. Nancy Bartley: Publish as much as you can. Get as much publicity as you can and create a public profile. Long before graduation, students should apply for every single prize, no matter how small. When it is listed on a CV the reader doesn't know if that prize was for $100 or $10,000. All the reader knows is that the someone found the student worthy of a prize and it makes it likely that someone else will give them money as well. That strategy worked extremely well for me. You are far more likely to be hired if you already have some sort of track record. You're a known person. You have published writing. Write guest columns for the university newspaper, for the community press. It tells the future employer that you have a public profile, that you care about the community, that you are an adult and it is a sign of maturity. Maturity and having a record of accomplishment is a key to leveraging your salary.
Corinne Shirley Ph.D.
Senior InstructorWhat Private Tutor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Corinne Shirley Ph.D.: There is no “typical” career path for Classics majors, so apply for the jobs that interest you and be prepared to explain how the knowledge and skills you have developed studying Latin and Greek can be an asset in your chosen field. Explore as much as possible while in college, don’t limit yourself, and be bold.
What general advice would you give to a Private Tutor?
Dr. Sarah Donovan: A career in education begins during an accredited teacher preparation program as you cultivate a network of colleagues among peers, professors, and state and national professional organizations. Becoming a teacher is about building content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, so accredited programs offer opportunities to observe and practice teacher in classrooms with the support of qualified, experienced mentors and faculty members.
The first year on the job, it is essential to keep open lines of communication with the colleagues and faculty with whom you've developed professional relationships so that they can offer you support and critical conversations as you navigate the new teaching context. This is also when your connections to professional networks will be vital as you will have many sites, people, and resources to draw on to support your practice.
What general advice would you give to a Private Tutor?
Dr. Diana Turk Ph.D.: This is for any field, but find mentors - plural - who can support and guide you, and find peers who can cheer and cajole you. Remembering your WHY - why are you teaching? what are you hoping to teach your students to do and be? is essential for the days that are particularly hard. And when you have one of those really hard days, remember that there's always tomorrow. Most of all, ignore anyone who tells you not to smile before Thanksgiving. Who wants a teacher who doesn't smile? You can be warm at the same time as you're firm; flexible while being structured; playful while being serious. Show the students how excited you are to be with them, and this will go a long way towards building relationships based on respect and rapport.
What will help Private Tutors increase their earning potential?
Dr. Christina O'Connor Ph.D.: Don't be afraid to ask for help. Learning to teach is a process. No one comes out of school knowing everything about teaching. The best teachers are always learning from others, from the first day of their careers all the way up to the very end.
What skills stand out on Private Tutor resumes?
Dennis Krause: I tell our students that we teach them to solve difficult problems with math and computers. We also teach them to effectively present technical material in written and oral form. These skills are relevant even if our majors don't go into physics or engineering, but these skills are certainly important if they do. Our students also work together in teams in the classroom and labs beginning with our introductory courses. Being a liberal arts college, Wabash students receive a broader education than students who graduate from a more focused program. Therefore, they are better equipped to take on leadership roles that require wider perspectives and better interpersonal skills. Many Wabash grads are CEOs and presidents.
Lawrence Lenhart
Associate Chair nd Associate ProfessorNorthern Arizona University
Department of English
What soft skills should all Private Tutors possess?
Lawrence Lenhart: Clear/logical/organized communication (written and oral), empathic listening
What hard/technical skills are most important for Private Tutors?
Lawrence Lenhart: Understanding of writing conventions in different contexts: professional versus academic versus creative versus analytical versus business versus scientific versus legal versus journalism
What skills will help Private Tutors earn the most?
Lawrence Lenhart: For someone working for themselves (e.g., tutor, freelance writer/editor, etc.): initiative, career self-management, innovative thinking / for someone working for a company (e.g., teacher, journalist, ): ability to leverage their strengths to support not just themselves, but entire departments; understanding/willingness to contribute to leadership's vision
What soft skills should all Private Tutors possess?
Cynthia Lewis Ph.D.: The willingness to be supportive and encouraging without exaggerating the tutee's accomplishments; a gift for explaining writing mechanics.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Private Tutors?
Cynthia Lewis Ph.D.: Experience at writing for publication or being recognized for writing (as by winning a contest); a solid grasp of English grammar and the ability to explain grammatical principles; the willingness to engage with students' writing, review it carefully, and give constructive responses and suggestions to it.
What skills will help Private Tutors earn the most?
Cynthia Lewis Ph.D.: I would say not so many skills as demonstrated experience and having testimonials from students, the tutor has helped successfully.
What skills stand out on Private Tutor resumes?
Cynthia Lewis Ph.D.: Demonstrated facility with language; the ability to tap into how the tutor learned what the tutee needs to know and to use that knowledge in tutoring; the ability to interest students in both reading and writing accomplished prose; a command of the vocabulary of English grammar and an ability to explain good grammatical practices; a grasp of the elements of composition and style.
(Some of these skills would come out in a cover letter versus a resume.)
Bradley Conrad Ph.D.
Associate ProfessorCapital University
School of Education
What skills stand out on Private Tutor resumes?
Bradley Conrad Ph.D.: First and most obviously, it's important that they have worked with kids in some capacity in the past and particularly helpful if they have previous teaching experience. Illustrating a past history in curriculum writing (e.g., lesson plans), implementing various pedagogies, and building rapport with students help an applicant stand out. Any field experiences in K-12 settings, whether traditional or non-traditional, should be included in the resume. Depending on the content area in which the student will tutor, it should be clear on the resume and/or cover letter that the student has knowledge of or experience teaching in that particular area.
What soft skills should all Private Tutors possess?
Bradley Conrad Ph.D.: First and foremost, teachers need to be able to build relationships with students and illustrate care. In my and my colleagues' book Lesson Planning with Purpose: Five Approaches to Curriculum Design, we offer what we call the perceptive teaching framework, which highlights eight qualities of fantastic teachers, all of which are based on the vast research literature and our own research. Four of those eight qualities might be categorized as soft skills and deal with who the teacher is as a person - open-mindedness, self-and other-awareness, caring, and authenticity. Those so-called "soft skills are essential to any great teacher.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Private Tutors?
Bradley Conrad Ph.D.: The four skills most prevalent in great teachers include personalizing the educational experience, teaching the whole person (not just the pupil), teaching with intention, and developing autonomy. Personalizing the educational experience includes providing multiple pathways for students to engage with the content and inviting individual, unique cultural perspectives into the learning experience. Teaching the whole person happens when teachers see students as unique individuals and support their social, emotional, and academic needs. Teaching with intention occurs when teachers make curricular and instructional choices based on their students' needs and interests while having a clear purpose behind what they are doing. Finally, developing autonomy is akin to teaching kids not to need us or, as Vygotsky referred to it, attending to zones of proximal development. In other words, this skill involves helping students think critically, learn to solve problems and become more empowered and autonomous in their own academic and personal lives.
What skills will help Private Tutors earn the most?
Bradley Conrad Ph.D.: I would argue the skills I highlighted in the perceptive teaching framework. Most instruments K-12 employers use aim to assess these critical skills, and generally, when creating interview questions, they often center around these concepts.
Amber Gentile
Graduate Secondary Education Program Coordinator, Middle Level Program Coordinator, Assistant Professor of Teacher EducationCabrini University
Teacher Education Program
What skills stand out on Private Tutor resumes?
Amber Gentile: Applicants that have experience in classrooms and/or with children are the ones that stand out. Being comfortable with and building relationships with children is pivotal to the learning process. Similarly, teaching skills improve by spending time observing other teachers and receiving feedback from them. Applicants must highlight their general communication and computer skills and understand and use technology and programs to enhance the teaching and learning process.
What soft skills should all Private Tutors possess?
Amber Gentile: Elementary teachers need to have the skills (communication, advocacy, interpersonal, collaboration) to build healthy relationships with their students and create communities conducive to learning (organization, creativity, patience, and problem-solving).
What hard/technical skills are most important for Private Tutors?
Amber Gentile: Teachers must be knowledgeable about child development to understand their students' experiences, feelings, and perspectives. Being skilled in research-based best practices in teaching and learning and utilizing them in designing and implementing instruction is also key! Staying current and continuing to attend professional development opportunities is very important to their career as an educator. We must be lifelong learners!
What skills will help Private Tutors earn the most?
Amber Gentile: In general, the longer you teach, the more you earn, so a commitment and love of the profession will help you earn the most. Similarly, enjoying being with children may prompt you to serve as a leader in extracurricular school activities, which can supplement a teacher's income. Leadership skills are important in the classroom and can enhance a teacher's earning potential with increased responsibilities and involvement in the school.
What skills stand out on Private Tutor resumes?
Lyn Brands: -Problem-solve their own situations
-Foreign language fluency
Laura Aull
Associate Professor and Writing Program DirectorUniversity of Michigan
English Language & Literature Department
What soft skills should all Private Tutors possess?
Laura Aull: - formal oral and written communication skills
- interpersonal engagement
- ability to identify what is needed and break up information well to communicate with different stakeholders (e.g., administrators, staff, students, parents, faculty, donors, etc.)
What hard/technical skills are most important for Private Tutors?
Laura Aull: - navigating institutional and academic databases
- identifying and summarizing best practices and research
- website oversight, visualization, and management
What skills will help Private Tutors earn the most?
Laura Aull: The best is a combination of the above skills, including strong writing skills and strong digital communication and oversight skills.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Private Tutor job market given the pandemic?
Claude Mona: In my opinion we will see a continuation of the work-from-home trend. Why commute to a central location if you can do your job 'remotely'? We've seen that productivity is not necessarily impacted and the flexibility that is afforded is very appealing to many potential employees. Many people actively despise going to a workplace so employers had better be prepared to deal with that mindset. Of course, it is often the case that physics requires very specialized equipment which will necessitate a physical presence at the workplace. Data analysis and generating reports could easily be done off-site.
What technical skills for a Private Tutor stand out to employers?
Claude Mona: The answer to this question is very industry dependent, of course. Not being an employer, I don't think I am well suited to answer this question in all but the most general terms. I would say that requiring some programming ability will become as common in minimum job qualifications as being able to work with spreadsheets or having the ability to use word processing was ten years ago.
How have salaries changed over time for Private Tutors?
Claude Mona: An internet search will give you a much better answer to this question than anything I can say since I haven't been in the market for a job for the past 15 years or so. There is a lso quite a difference in academia vs industry. Here's a relevant link for you to peruse:
www.aip.org
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Private Tutors?
Karen Masters Ph.D.: I think the pandemic is going to leave an enduring impact on everyone. For recent graduates in particular, I would guess on average it has increased their technical skills and ability to work independently, but possibly at a cost of in person social skills. But I think we're all learning to be more flexible, to balance work and life better, and that travel for work is not as essential as previously thought.
What's a good job out of college for Private Tutors?
Karen Masters Ph.D.: I think a good job is one that can hold a graduate's interest and of course pay their bills. Ideally it would be a job with prospects for continued learning and advancement/promotion.
What will help Private Tutors increase their earning potential?
Karen Masters Ph.D.: I am a Physics and Astronomy professor, and we see that students with physics majors are highly sought after in a range of professions for their quantitative, technical and problem solving skills. Physics graduates work in a variety of professions, including various types of engineering, financial market models, computing (including as software developers) and teaching science at a variety of levels.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Private Tutors?
Karen Chandler Ph.D.: One enduring impact of the pandemic may be that students will realize they have the ability to adjust to disruptive circumstances and find ways to carry on their work and fulfill their responsibilities and goals. I've been impressed by the English department's interns, majors and minors not only learning how to navigate the challenges of remote, distance ed and hybrid courses, but also to make the best of circumstances. I see them learning how to use teleconferencing platforms, coming up with ways to connect and do their work, etc.
What's a day at work look like for a Private Tutor?
Karen Chandler Ph.D.: I don't assume that there will be one paradigm, but I suppose many recent graduates' work will include more remote work than before the pandemic. Their academic work in virtual classrooms, while different, may help prepare them to do individual tasks and collaborative work remotely.
What will help Private Tutors increase their earning potential?
Karen Chandler Ph.D.: Interest in graduate programs seems to indicate that more students are considering returning to university to pursue higher degrees. For those in the workplace outside higher ed, an environment, whether actual or virtual, that fosters recent graduates' development would be important. This would involve clear communication and trust.
What certifications/licenses/courses can have the biggest impact for Private Tutors?
Dr. Robin Field Ph.D.: Employers appreciate excellent communication skills-from the written to the oral, from strong interpersonal skills to leadership experiences. Prospective employees may demonstrate these skills in a variety of ways. Internships offer invaluable workplace experiences that help to develop these skills, so undergraduate students should try to complete at least one internship, if not more, in fields such as nonprofits, marketing and public relations, and research/editing fields. Working with on-campus publications, such as a newspaper, literary magazine, or radio station, also develops these integral skills, as well as offers opportunities to showcase creativity-another key skill employers are looking for. While graduate degrees may be important in certain fields, they certainly need not be pursued immediately upon graduation.
What will help Private Tutors increase their earning potential?
Dr. Robin Field Ph.D.: To move up in certain fields does require graduate credentials, and some employers will pay for their employees' master's degrees. Many graduate programs have some or all of their programs online or in a weekend/summer format in order to accommodate workers. All employees should consider their options carefully to minimize student loan debt while also earning their next credential.
Derek Pacheco Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in EnglishPurdue University
English Department
What skills stand out on Private Tutor resumes?
Derek Pacheco Ph.D.: Recent studies demonstrate that employers continue to rank these sorts of humanities-friendly skills ahead of specific technical competencies (which go out of fashion much faster) when seeking job candidates. Even in highly technical fields like engineering, employers see people skills as important indicators of long-term employee potential. (So, if you want to be an engineer, you'd be smart to consider minoring in English or a foreign language as a way to differentiate yourself in an increasingly competitive market!) Anders' book was written a few years ago, but, if the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that virtually all "white collar" careers are now tech-adjacent, increasingly characterized by Slack chats, Zoom meetings, working from home. I expect that this trend will accelerate, and along with it the importance of the people skills needed to thrive in this twenty-first-century workplace.
I also see more and more students in English double majoring or minoring in other programs as they explore their intellectual interests, professional abilities, and personal aspirations for life and work after college. This is a good thing, and true to the Liberal Arts spirit. Here at Purdue University, for example, our slimmed down English major (10 or 11 classes, depending on the track) is designed for flexibility, readily stacking with other plans of study across the college and campus. I always say that, basically, we're the department of storytelling-and storytelling is essential in any profession, whether told through language, images, or data. By the time they graduate, our students should have a story to share about themselves, their experiences, their education, their passions, their goals. A Literature major with a double minor in Management and Spanish, or a Creative Writing major with a double major in Physics (real examples), is going to have a much more interesting story to tell about themselves than otherwise.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Private Tutors?
M. Alison Kibler Ph.D.: Some things seem to have changed in the pandemic, but F&M's graduates in American Studies did quite well in the first pandemic season of job hunting.
What type of skills will young Private Tutors need?
M. Alison Kibler Ph.D.: The key for today's graduate is to come ready with relevant skills and experience. A college degree without relevant skills and experience will just not be as sufficient as in previous years to land that first, post-graduate role.
Creativity, proactivity along with strong communication skills and intellectual grit to anticipate and respond proactively to the unexpected are the competencies most prized in today's labor market. Showing that one worked through the pandemic, and even pursued additional skills and experiences relevant to a role or field, will make a graduate stand out from among their less prepared and proactive peers.
In the last class of American Studies graduates (class of 2020), I saw some students take a new path to a job. For example, one student had an internship where she worked remotely for a digital marketing firm. This then became a full-time job after graduation. Another student had worked on legal research (also remote) over the summer and in her senior seminar, and then got a job as a legal assistant in the New York DA's office. She hopes to ultimately go to law school. This is a job that other AMS alumni have secured in the past. Other students got jobs as community organizers, teachers, museum curators and entry-level business positions. These paths seemed largely the same as in the past. All built on course work and/or internships where they developed skills and deepened interest in topics. The student that went to work as a community organizer, for example, had done a senior research project on homelessness.