Substitute Teacher: Pay & Requirements

Overview

Sourced

Teach students on a short-term basis as a temporary replacement for a regular classroom teacher, typically using the regular teacher's lesson plan.

O*NET definition of Substitute Teachers, Short-Term (SOC 25-3031) · Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed.

382,870

in government (SOC 25-3031)

73%

of this occupation works for government

$43,690

median pay in government

Local

levels of government

Titles employers use

Building Sub (Building Substitute)Short-Term Sub Teacher (Short-Term Substitute Teacher)Sub (Substitute)Sub Teacher (Substitute Teacher)Building Sub Teacher (Building Substitute Teacher)Child Development Sub Teacher (Child Development Substitute Teacher)ESL Sub (English as a Second Language Substitute)HS Sub Teacher (High School Substitute Teacher)Pre-School Sub Teacher (Pre-School Substitute Teacher)

How people usually get in Editorial

sub permit (degree varies by state); daily rate. Requirements vary by employer; each employer page will list its exact rules.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — national estimates by ownership; U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), O*NET 31.0 Database; GovJobsWiki job taxonomy v1 (research round R240) (editorial). Data captured September 30, 2026.

Requirements

Sourced

Typical entry requirements (BLS, SOC 25-3031)

Education needed to enter: Bachelor's degree
Related work experience: None
On-the-job training: None

Education workers say the job requires

High School Diploma or the equivalent

10%

Post-Secondary Certificate

Some College Courses

10%

Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree

35%

Bachelor's Degree

40%

Post-Baccalaureate Certificate

Master's Degree

Share of surveyed workers in Substitute Teachers, Short-Term (SOC 25-3031) naming each level as required to be hired, 34 respondents, O*NET survey August 2025. Each employer sets its own minimum.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35 — education and training assignments by detailed occupation (Tables 5.3, 5.4); U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), O*NET 31.0 Database. Data captured September 30, 2026.

Academy and training

Sourced

Training to become competent (BLS)

SOC 25-3031: None

Preparation level (O*NET)

Job zone: Considerable Preparation Needed

Academy length, curriculum and paid-training policies are set by each employer and state; they are part of the employer collection stage.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35 — education and training assignments by detailed occupation (Tables 5.3, 5.4). Data captured September 30, 2026.

Promotion ladder

Editorial

Fixed salary (elected, appointed or per diem): elected/appointed; salary set by statute or ordinance. Typical structure for a elected, appointed or per-diem position; titles, steps and timing differ by employer.

Elected or appointed; salary set by statute/ordinance or board contract (no ladder — compare peers)

Source: GovJobsWiki job taxonomy v1 (research round R240) (editorial).

Pay

Sourced

Federal

Not published

State

$58,420

Local

$43,390

All government

$43,690

Private sector

$37,850

Median annual wage by employer type, national, May 2025. Federal includes the U.S. Postal Service; state and local include public schools and hospitals.

Employer type	Workers	10th pct.	25th	Median	75th	90th
State	7,050	$38,180	$46,060	$58,420	$58,960	$75,610
Local	375,810	$28,570	$34,530	$43,390	$58,250	$70,180
All government	382,870	$28,600	$34,650	$43,690	$58,540	$70,180
Private sector	141,910	$28,410	$33,260	$37,850	$47,110	$57,980

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — national estimates by ownership. Data captured September 30, 2026.

Schedule

Sourced

Work schedule

Regular

63%

Irregular

29%

Seasonal

Typical work week

40 hours

Share of surveyed workers in the occupation (O*NET work context, August 2025). Shift patterns and differentials depend on the employer.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), O*NET 31.0 Database. Data captured September 30, 2026.

Day-to-day work

Sourced

Answer students' questions.4.7
Enforce school and class rules to maintain order in the classroom.4.7
Follow lesson plans designed by absent teachers.4.6
Take class attendance and maintain attendance records.4.5
Supervise students during activities outside the classroom, such as recess, lunch, and field trips.4.4
Teach social skills to students, such as communication, conflict resolution, and etiquette.4.3
Tutor or assist students individually or in small groups.4.3
Distribute or collect tests or homework assignments.4.3
Distribute teaching materials, such as textbooks, workbooks, papers, and pencils, to students.4.2
Teach a variety of subjects, such as English, mathematics, and social studies.4.2

The 10 most important of 13 core tasks for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term, ranked by importance (1–5) in the O*NET survey of August 2025.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), O*NET 31.0 Database. Data captured September 30, 2026.

13Derived

Employer directory

Sourced

13,321 school districts in the registry. Regular public school districts in the NCES Common Core of Data (charter-only districts are not included). The 10 largest by teachers (fte):

Employer	Location	Teachers (FTE)	Website
Chicago Public Schools Dist 299	Chicago, IL	23,532	Official site
Los Angeles Unified	Los Angeles, CA	21,246	Official site
MIAMI-DADE	Miami, FL	17,139	Official site
Clark County	Las Vegas, NV	16,446	Official site
Fairfax County Public Schools	Falls Church, VA	13,501	Official site
Gwinnett County	Lawrenceville, GA	12,796	—
Hawaii Department of Education	Honolulu, HI	12,215	Official site
Montgomery County Public Schools	Rockville, MD	11,574	Official site
PALM BEACH	West Palm Beach, FL	11,548	Official site
ORANGE	Orlando, FL	11,416	Official site

Full lists by state:

Texas · 1,022 California · 988 Illinois · 855 New York · 717 Ohio · 619 New Jersey · 560 Michigan · 536 Missouri · 518 Oklahoma · 507 Pennsylvania · 500 Wisconsin · 420 Montana · 392

As reported by each employer to its federal registry.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data, 2024–25 local education agency universe (directory and staff). Data captured September 30, 2026.

By state

Sourced

Median annual wage for Substitute Teachers, Short-Term (SOC 25-3031) in each state, all employers (BLS state estimates do not separate government from private). Highest first.

State	Workers	10th pct.	Median	90th pct.
Alaska	1,420	$38,250	$66,920	$132,530
California	115,660	$39,040	$60,300	$78,670
Hawaii	3,990	$45,690	$58,530	$60,620
Oregon	8,090	$54,870	$58,280	$74,290
Washington	14,820	$45,790	$55,740	$67,700
Minnesota	8,660	$37,750	$50,390	$75,890
District of Columbia	750	$46,450	$49,790	$51,090
West Virginia	4,840	$41,440	$49,020	$75,290
Maryland	7,610	$32,870	$46,470	$47,360
Rhode Island	1,910	$36,410	$45,590	$60,640
Pennsylvania	22,360	$30,470	$44,870	$63,930
Wisconsin	8,420	$35,740	$43,950	$59,890
New Jersey	17,100	$34,170	$43,780	$58,670
New York	36,090	$35,090	$43,490	$60,010
North Dakota	420	$33,780	$42,570	$55,080
Massachusetts	8,410	$33,590	$41,350	$58,930
Michigan	3,600	$29,720	$39,500	$61,370
Illinois	17,220	$31,200	$39,410	$58,040
Virginia	24,350	$27,670	$39,020	$53,540
Georgia	16,400	$20,800	$38,870	$45,900
Arizona	4,710	$31,170	$38,500	$50,290
Connecticut	5,950	$35,050	$38,460	$63,980
Vermont	1,400	$31,470	$38,200	$54,120
Nebraska	3,430	$28,080	$37,690	$61,450
Maine	Not published	$31,110	$37,440	$49,590
Iowa	7,300	$30,980	$37,230	$47,770
Ohio	9,140	$28,480	$37,150	$47,470
Florida	25,270	$30,300	$37,080	$60,520
Wyoming	2,230	$30,600	$36,990	$45,590
Delaware	Not published	$31,200	$36,510	$50,590
Utah	4,710	$24,710	$36,490	$53,780
New Mexico	3,510	$30,170	$36,400	$43,960
Indiana	9,920	$28,540	$36,360	$56,330
Kansas	9,360	$28,980	$36,190	$44,900
New Hampshire	1,070	$28,870	$34,990	$46,490
Missouri	11,480	$29,220	$34,790	$49,850
Idaho	1,800	$29,110	$34,080	$45,240
North Carolina	20,360	$28,390	$33,780	$45,040
Texas	29,150	$22,870	$32,040	$39,090
South Carolina	7,700	$22,460	$30,400	$78,690
Kentucky	320	$24,120	$29,730	$64,680
Tennessee	7,690	$21,570	$29,500	$35,970
Arkansas	2,560	$24,440	$29,230	$36,040
Montana	2,370	$22,930	$28,050	$38,230
South Dakota	1,610	$25,560	$27,840	$34,700
Louisiana	1,090	$20,730	$27,370	$44,350
Alabama	9,290	$18,170	$25,340	$30,020
Nevada	6,600	$24,960	$24,960	$40,620
Oklahoma	4,990	$18,300	$23,770	$42,550
Mississippi	2,390	$16,430	$22,340	$33,320

50 states with published estimates.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 — state estimates. Data captured September 30, 2026.

Not yet collected

These dimensions are part of every job page. We publish them only once they are sourced from official documents such as job postings, pay plans, union contracts and state standards.

03 Hiring process
Ordered steps + typical timeline: application, written test (named), physical test (named), oral board, background, polygraph, psych, medical, eligibility list
Not yet collected
05 Probation
Probation length and what ends it
Not yet collected
09 Benefits and pension
Pension plan/tier and formula, retirement age/years, DROP, retiree health, Social Security coverage, 457(b), PSLF eligibility
Not yet collected
10 Union contracts
Bargaining unit, union, current CBA (source link, effective dates)
Not yet collected
11 Transfers and lateral entry
Lateral policy, certification reciprocity, lateral bonus, inter-agency moves
Not yet collected
14 Exam practice
Named exams → OpenExamPrep practice
Not yet collected

Substitute Teacher

Overview

Titles employers use

Requirements

Education workers say the job requires

Academy and training

Promotion ladder

Pay

Schedule

Day-to-day work

Related jobs

Employer directory

By state

Not yet collected