Paraprofessional Salary by State
The median paraprofessional salary in the United States is $38,290 per year, or $18.41 per hour, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Paraprofessionals, also called teacher assistants, teacher aides, or paraeducators, earn from $24,070 in Alabama to $49,120 in Washington. Compare all 50 states and DC below.
$24,070Highest · Washington
$49,120
How much do paraprofessionals make in each state?
Paraprofessionals, also known as teacher assistants, teacher aides, or paraeducators, earn a national median wage of $38,290 per year (the midpoint: half earn more, half earn less), according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But that single number hides a wide range. Pay varies sharply by state, driven by cost of living, state education funding, and local demand.
The interactive map below shows the median annual wage for teacher assistants in every state, plus the District of Columbia, using the latest BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) release: the May 2025 survey, published in April 2026. Select any state to see its median pay, typical range, and how it compares to the national figure.
Paraprofessional pay: what the data shows
ParaPathways Practice analyzed U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data for teacher assistants across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, drawn from the latest OEWS release. Here is what stands out.
Two reference lines appear throughout: the national median wage and the 2025 federal poverty guideline of $32,150 for a household of four (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). The numbers are presented as reported, so readers can draw their own conclusions.
Part 1 · By state
Where your state stands
Start with the big picture: how all 50 states and DC rank, and how far your state’s pay really goes.
Teacher assistant salary in every state, ranked
The pay map splits on geography more than on cost of living: the entire top ten is coastal or northern, and the entire bottom ten is southern or plains. Each bar below is one state, ranked from highest to lowest median pay; the vertical lines mark the national median and the family-of-four poverty line.
See the full table: paraprofessional salary in every state and DC
| State | Median annual | Median hourly | Entry (10th pct) | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | $49,120 | $23.62 | $37,870 | #1 |
| District of Columbia | $46,920 | $22.56 | $38,370 | #2 |
| Maine | $46,750 | $22.48 | $36,210 | #3 |
| California | $46,490 | $22.35 | $37,240 | #4 |
| Vermont | $43,800 | $21.06 | $29,140 | #5 |
| Minnesota | $40,100 | $19.28 | $31,420 | #6 |
| Oregon | $39,850 | $19.16 | $30,300 | #7 |
| Massachusetts | $39,380 | $18.93 | $31,200 | #8 |
| Virginia | $38,520 | $18.52 | $28,220 | #9 |
| New Hampshire | $38,440 | $18.48 | $28,920 | #10 |
| New York | $38,240 | $18.38 | $32,240 | #11 |
| North Dakota | $38,240 | $18.38 | $29,130 | #12 |
| Connecticut | $38,110 | $18.32 | $34,010 | #13 |
| Delaware | $37,830 | $18.19 | $31,200 | #14 |
| Wisconsin | $37,800 | $18.17 | $29,060 | #15 |
| New Jersey | $37,290 | $17.93 | $32,220 | #16 |
| Rhode Island | $37,220 | $17.89 | $31,200 | #17 |
| Alaska | $37,190 | $17.88 | $27,440 | #18 |
| Maryland | $37,060 | $17.82 | $31,200 | #19 |
| Utah | $37,050 | $17.81 | $27,730 | #20 |
| Illinois | $36,990 | $17.78 | $31,200 | #21 |
| Hawaii | $36,810 | $17.70 | $30,130 | #22 |
| Missouri | $36,300 | $17.45 | $28,600 | #23 |
| Wyoming | $36,100 | $17.36 | $27,840 | #24 |
| Ohio | $35,920 | $17.27 | $26,810 | #25 |
| Arizona | $35,900 | $17.26 | $30,960 | #26 |
| New Mexico | $35,900 | $17.26 | $27,050 | #27 |
| Colorado | $35,760 | $17.19 | $30,800 | #28 |
| Idaho | $35,560 | $17.10 | $23,980 | #29 |
| Nebraska | $35,160 | $16.90 | $28,080 | #30 |
| Michigan | $35,110 | $16.88 | $27,550 | #31 |
| Montana | $34,750 | $16.71 | $23,950 | #32 |
| Pennsylvania | $34,740 | $16.70 | $23,380 | #33 |
| Florida | $34,430 | $16.55 | $28,490 | #34 |
| Indiana | $33,300 | $16.01 | $23,970 | #35 |
| Nevada | $31,900 | $15.34 | $27,880 | #36 |
| Iowa | $30,510 | $14.67 | $22,400 | #37 |
| Kentucky | $30,160 | $14.50 | $23,980 | #38 |
| Texas | $29,850 | $14.35 | $22,480 | #39 |
| West Virginia | $29,800 | $14.33 | $27,400 | #40 |
| North Carolina | $29,790 | $14.32 | $25,110 | #41 |
| Kansas | $29,490 | $14.18 | $21,800 | #42 |
| Tennessee | $29,210 | $14.04 | $22,010 | #43 |
| Arkansas | $28,790 | $13.84 | $23,670 | #44 |
| Georgia | $28,770 | $13.83 | $21,190 | #45 |
| South Dakota | $28,220 | $13.57 | $24,800 | #46 |
| Oklahoma | $27,920 | $13.42 | $17,940 | #47 |
| South Carolina | $27,860 | $13.39 | $21,910 | #48 |
| Louisiana | $27,400 | $13.17 | $20,680 | #49 |
| Mississippi | $25,840 | $12.42 | $18,830 | #50 |
| Alabama | $24,070 | $11.57 | $21,440 | #51 |
Source: BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 25-9045. Hourly = annual ÷ 2,080 hours. Entry = 10th-percentile annual wage, roughly what new hires start at.
Workforce size versus pay
Workforce size tells you nothing about pay: the data shows no relationship between how many paraprofessionals a state employs and what it pays them. Texas employs about 109,000 at $29,850 a year, while Washington employs about 43,000 and pays $49,120. Each dot is a state; the horizontal line marks the national median, and several of the largest workforces sit below it.
Two states with very large workforces are plotted at the right edge: New York (about 137,820 employed) and California (about 177,140).
Highest- and lowest-paying states for paraprofessionals
10 highest-paying states
| State | Annual median | Hourly |
|---|
10 lowest-paying states
| State | Annual median | Hourly |
|---|
Paraprofessional pay versus teacher pay
The teacher comparison is the clearest lens on this pay scale: a paraprofessional in Maine earns three quarters of what an elementary school teacher makes, while one in Alabama earns closer to a third. Same classrooms, very different math. In the median state the figure is about 52 percent.
Teacher benchmark: BLS median annual wage for Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education (SOC 25-2021), May 2025.
What pay is worth after cost of living
New York and North Dakota pay paraprofessionals the same median wage to the dollar, $38,240, yet the two are different worlds once local prices are counted. Adjusting each state’s median by the Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities (2024) reshuffles the map: Maine ($48,171 adjusted) overtakes Washington ($45,901) as the best-paying state, North Dakota jumps from #12 to #4, and New York slides 18 places. New Jersey falls 18 and Hawaii falls 13.
Adjusted wage = median annual wage ÷ (state RPP ÷ 100), using BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024. RPPs for 2025 were not yet published; 2024 price levels are applied to May 2025 wages on the assumption that relative state price levels shift slowly.
Starting pay: what new paraprofessionals earn
Entry pay is where the profession loses people: in 38 of the 51 jurisdictions, a brand-new paraprofessional starts under $15 an hour, below what many large retail chains advertise for new hires. The 10th-percentile wage (roughly what brand-new hires start at) is the closest federal measure of entry-level pay. It runs from about $38,370 in the District of Columbia down to $17,940 in Oklahoma, which works out to about $8.63 an hour.
Entry pay = 10th percentile annual wage, BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Part 2 · By city
Zoom in: your city
Statewide medians hide real differences between cities, so here is how the biggest metro areas compare.
Paraprofessional salary by city and metro area
Metro gaps are bigger than state gaps: even inside Washington, Mount Vernon-Anacortes ($57,950) out-pays Seattle, and across the biggest school markets the spread runs nearly two to one. Metro medians bottom out at $20,730 in Alexandria, LA. Among the largest markets, Seattle pays best at $53,950 and Houston least at $29,300.
The 12 largest metro areas for paraprofessionals, ranked by median annual pay. Hover or tap a bar for the full metro name and how many paraprofessionals it employs.
BLS OEWS, May 2025, metropolitan statistical areas, SOC 25-9045 Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary.
Part 3 · Over time
How pay is changing
Finally, the trend: the one-year jump in pay and the longer race against inflation.
How paraprofessional pay changed from 2024 to 2025
Between the May 2024 and May 2025 BLS surveys, the national median wage for paraprofessionals rose 8.7 percent, the biggest single-year jump in the four survey years this page tracks. Pay rose in 50 of the 51 jurisdictions tracked (the 50 states plus DC); Arkansas was the only decline.
The number of states with a median below the family-of-four poverty line fell from 25 to 16. That drop reflects two moving pieces at once: pay rose in most states, and the poverty guideline itself rose by $950.
Pay rose almost everywhere, but a handful of states barely moved, and Arkansas was the only state where the median actually fell.
Biggest year-over-year raises
| State | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nebraska | $27,840 | $35,160 | +26.3% |
| Missouri | $29,060 | $36,300 | +24.9% |
| Alaska | $30,560 | $37,190 | +21.7% |
| Idaho | $29,840 | $35,560 | +19.2% |
| Mississippi | $21,790 | $25,840 | +18.6% |
Where pay barely moved
| State | 2024 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | $29,270 | $28,790 | -1.6% |
| Louisiana | $27,040 | $27,400 | +1.3% |
| Ohio | $35,380 | $35,920 | +1.5% |
| California | $45,460 | $46,490 | +2.3% |
| Connecticut | $37,160 | $38,110 | +2.6% |
OEWS estimates carry sampling error and methodology updates, so single-year state changes can reflect survey noise as well as real wage growth. The national trend is the more reliable signal.
The longer view: pay versus inflation since 2018
Nationally, the paraprofessional median rose 30.4 percent between 2021 and 2025 while consumer prices rose 18.8 percent, a real gain of about 9.8 percent. That run is the strongest sustained wage growth this occupation has shown in the federal record we examined. Over the 2018 to 2025 window prices rose 28.2 percent, and most big metros beat that, but not all. The Washington, DC metro (+53.1%) and Seattle (+47.4%) grew fastest; in Boston, para pay has not kept up with inflation since 2018.
National median by year
| Year | Median |
|---|---|
| 2021 | $29,360 |
| 2022 | $30,920 |
| 2024 | $35,240 |
| 2025 | $38,290 |
2023 omitted from this table; the full series is in the BLS OEWS archives.
Big-metro pay growth, 2018 to 2025. Wage data: BLS OEWS. The 2018 figures use predecessor code SOC 25-9041; the 2018 SOC revision also adjusted the occupation’s scope, so the seven-year comparison is indicative rather than exact. Inflation: CPI-U annual averages, BLS.
The bottom line: an honest read on this profession
I have spent weeks inside this dataset, and two things are true at once.
This is one of the most underpaid skilled jobs in American education. In 16 states the median para earns less than the poverty line for a family of four; in Alabama the job clears less than $12 an hour. Teachers in the same rooms earn roughly double. None of that is fair.
It is also the fastest-improving corner of school employment in federal data: pay up 30 percent since 2021, well ahead of inflation, and the number of below-poverty-line states fell from 25 to 16 in a single year.
Paraprofessional work is a hard deal that is getting better quickly, and where you live decides almost everything.
Looking ahead, the direction favors the people doing the work. Districts are still short-staffed, raises keep landing, and the para role is quietly becoming the main on-ramp into teaching: many states now pay a para's tuition through grow-your-own programs while they keep working. If I were starting today, I would treat this job as a paid first step toward a teaching license, and I would pick my state carefully. Washington, Maine, or Minnesota pay a livable wage now; much of the Deep South pays half for the same kids.
Lee Trieu
Want the whole story as one graphic?
We built a single tall infographic that pulls together everything on this page: the state map, all 51 states ranked, the pay spread, workforce versus pay, and the year-over-year trend. It is free to download and embed on your own site or article, with credit.
Open full graphic →
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (SOC 25-9045). Analysis: ParaPathways Practice.
How paraprofessional pay stacks up nationwide
For the same job title, the spread between the top and bottom of this ranking is more than $25,000 a year. That spread, not the national number, is the figure worth planning a move or a pay negotiation around.
If you are working toward this job, the path runs through the ParaPathways assessment, and in many districts a para role is also the first rung toward becoming a teacher, often with district-paid tuition. Check your state’s passing score or start with a free practice test. Employers hire from the pool of candidates who already hold a qualifying score, so clearing the exam is the gate to these positions.
Frequently asked questions
How much do paraprofessionals make?
Paraprofessionals earn a national median wage of $38,290 per year, or about $18.41 an hour, according to BLS OEWS data from May 2025. Actual pay depends heavily on the state: the median ranges from $24,070 in Alabama to $49,120 in Washington. Use the map above to find the figure for your state.
Which state pays paraprofessionals the most?
Washington pays paraprofessionals the most, with a median annual wage of $49,120, or $23.62 an hour. The District of Columbia ranks second at $46,920, followed by Maine at $46,750. All three sit well above the national median of $38,290.
Why does paraprofessional pay vary so much by state?
Three factors drive most of the spread. Cost of living pushes wages up in high-cost states and down where living is cheaper. State and local education funding sets the budgets that districts draw salaries from, so better-funded states tend to pay more. And union density matters, since states where paraeducators bargain collectively often secure higher pay floors. Together these produce the more than $25,000 gap between the highest and lowest states.
Do paraprofessionals get paid over the summer?
Usually not in the direct sense. Most paraprofessionals work on school-year contracts of roughly 9 to 10 months and are not paid for the weeks school is out. Some districts do let you spread your salary across all 12 months, so a paycheck still arrives in summer even though the total for the year does not change. This is a big reason the annual medians here can feel low: figures like the $38,290 national median often reflect a school-year schedule rather than 12 months of full-time work. Check your own district contract to see how your pay is scheduled.
How much does a paraprofessional make an hour?
The national median is $18.41 per hour, based on BLS OEWS May 2025 data. State medians range from $11.57 an hour in Alabama to $23.62 in Washington, and 15 states still have a median under $15 per hour. Hourly pay matters here because most paraprofessional contracts are hourly, school-year positions.
Do paraprofessionals get benefits?
It depends on your hours and district. Many paraprofessionals who work enough hours qualify for health insurance and a state retirement or pension plan through the school district, which can add real value on top of the wages shown here. Part-time paraprofessionals often do not qualify. Because base pay is modest in many states, benefits are a major part of total compensation, so ask the district HR office what you would actually receive.
Do special education paraprofessionals make more?
BLS groups all teaching assistants under one occupation code, so there is no separate federal median for special education paraprofessionals. In practice, many districts pay a stipend or an hourly differential for special education roles because of the added responsibilities, so SPED paras often earn slightly above the state medians shown here. Check your district's salary schedule for the exact amount.
How much do paraprofessionals make in NYC?
In the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area, the median is $38,890 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025), right around the national median of $38,290. About 126,920 paraprofessionals work there, the largest metro workforce in the country. Seattle ($53,950) and San Francisco ($49,360) pay more; Houston ($29,300) and Dallas ($31,480) pay less.
Is being a paraprofessional worth it compared to retail?
In low-paying states the hourly rate can be close to, or even below, what large retailers pay new hires. What tips the balance for many people: school-district benefits (health insurance and a state pension for those who work enough hours), a school-year schedule with summers and holidays off, and a direct path toward a teaching career. In higher-paying states like Washington ($23.62 an hour median), the wage itself is competitive.
Can a paraprofessional become a teacher?
Yes: this is one of the most common routes into teaching. Many districts and states run "grow your own" pipeline programs that help working paras earn a teaching license, sometimes with tuition paid, while they keep working. Ask your district HR office about pipeline or apprenticeship programs.
Where this salary data comes from, and how it compares
Every wage and employment figure on this page is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey (May 2025, SOC 25-9045), the official federal source, based on what employers actually pay. The poverty reference is the 2025 HHS guideline for a family of four. Charts cover all 50 states and DC.
Job sites such as ZipRecruiter, Indeed, and Glassdoor measure something different: current postings and self-reported pay. They often show a national figure near $34,000, a few thousand dollars below the federal median. Neither is wrong: use job-site numbers when weighing a specific offer, and use these federal figures for the full, comparable picture across every state and every para in the role. Full source links are listed below.
Sources & references
Every figure on this page is drawn from official U.S. government data. The primary source is the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey; the poverty line is from the Department of Health and Human Services. Full references below.
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BLS OEWS: Teaching Assistants (SOC 25-9045), May 2025. Median annual and hourly wages, 10th/90th percentile wages, and employment counts for every state and DC. The main dataset for this page.
bls.gov/oes/current/oes259045.htm -
BLS OEWS: state-level data files, May 2025. The full state tables used to rank all 51 states and build the map, charts, and downloadable CSV.
bls.gov/oes/tables.htm -
BLS OEWS: May 2024 data. Used for the year-over-year comparison (the +8.7 percent change from $35,240 to $38,290).
bls.gov/oes/2024/may/oes259045.htm -
BLS OEWS: survey questions and answers. How the wage estimates are collected, and their reliability, in the bureau’s own Q&A.
bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm -
BLS OEWS: Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education (SOC 25-2021), May 2025. State median annual wages used for the paraprofessional-versus-teacher pay comparison.
bls.gov/oes/current/oes252021.htm -
BEA: Regional Price Parities by state, 2024. State price levels used for the cost-of-living adjustment of median wages.
bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area -
BLS CPI-U (Consumer Price Index, series CUUR0000SA0). Annual-average consumer price data used for the pay-versus-inflation comparison since 2018.
bls.gov/cpi/ -
HHS: 2025 federal poverty guidelines. The $32,150 poverty line for a household of four (48 contiguous states and DC) used as a reference point throughout.
aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines -
SOC 2018: Standard Occupational Classification structure. The federal occupation classification system that defines code 25-9045 (Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary).
bls.gov/soc/2018/major_groups.htm
Data current as of the BLS OEWS May 2025 release. Page compiled and last reviewed July 2026 by ParaPathways Practice. Figures are presented as reported by the source agencies.
ParaPathways Practice is independent and not affiliated with ETS. It provides free practice tests for the ETS ParaPathways Assessment (5757).