Occupational Employment and Wages for Teachers in Maryland – May 2010 (PDF)

Two of the five metropolitan areas in Maryland—Washington and Baltimore—had wages significantly above the national average for three of the largest groups in the teaching profession—secondary, middle, and elementary school teachers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that no area in the State had wages that fell measurably below those for the nation in any of the three selected occupations. Nationwide, the average (mean) wage for secondary school teachers was $55,990, for middle school teachers, $54,880, and for elementary school teachers, $54,330. (See table A. For comprehensive definitions of metropolitan areas in Maryland, please see Technical Note.)

Of the five metropolitan areas in the State, the Washington area had the largest number of teaching jobs, with employment of 56,870 in the three teaching occupations combined. Over 80 percent, or 45,830, of the Washington area’s teachers were located in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria division. The remaining 11,040 Washington-area teachers were employed in the Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick division, which is located entirely in Maryland. Elsewhere, teaching jobs in the Baltimore-Towson area totaled 32,340. Teacher employment levels in two areas were less than 3,000. (See table B.)

Wages for secondary school teachers in metropolitan areas in Virginia

Two metropolitan areas in the State had wages for secondary school teachers that exceeded the national average. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va., was the highest-paying metropolitan area in Maryland for secondary school teachers, at $69,390 per year, more than $13,000 above the U.S. average. The wage for secondary school teachers in Baltimore-Towson, at $60,440, was also measurably higher than the national level. These two adjacent metropolitan areas were located in the central part of the State. (See chart 1.) None of the five metropolitan areas in Maryland had wages for this occupation that were measurably below the national average.

Wages for middle school teachers in metropolitan areas in Virginia

As with secondary school teachers, the Washington metropolitan area paid top wages for middle school teachers in Maryland at $71,320 per year, exceeding the national average by $16,440. Baltimore area wages for middle school teachers, at $62,230, were also significantly higher than those for the nation. No metropolitan area in Maryland had significantly below-average wages for middle school teachers. (See chart 2.) 

Wages for elementary school teachers in metropolitan areas in Virginia

As with the other two teaching occupations, elementary school teachers in the Washington and Baltimore areas were paid wages significantly above the national average at $68,650 and $57,660, respectively. Wages for the three remaining metropolitan areas in Maryland were not significantly different from the national average for this occupation. (See chart 3.) 

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services; the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation; the Virginia Employment Commission; and WorkForce West Virginia. The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and nearly 800 non-military detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 establishments in May and November of each year for a 3-year period. The nationwide response rate for the May 2010 survey was 78.2 percent based on establishments and 74.4 percent based on employment. May 2010 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2010, November 2009, May 2009, November 2008, May 2008, and November 2007. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
The May 2010 OES estimates mark the first set of estimates based in part on data collected using the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Nearly all the occupations in this release are 2010 SOC occupations; however, some are not. The May 2012 OES data will reflect the full set of detailed occupations in the 2010 SOC. For a list of all occupations, including 2010 SOC occupations, and how data collected on two structures were combined, see the OES Frequently Asked Questions online at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm#Ques41.

Metropolitan area definitions

The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

• Baltimore-Towson, Md. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, and Queen Anne’s Counties and Baltimore City in Maryland.
• Cumberland, Md.-W.Va. MSA includes Allegany County in Maryland and Mineral County in West Virginia.
• Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W.Va. MSA includes Washington County in Maryland and Berkeley and Morgan Counties in West Virginia.
• Salisbury, Md. MSA includes Somerset and Wicomico Counties in Maryland.
• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. MSA
• Bethesda-Gaithersburg-Frederick, Md. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Frederick and Montgomery Counties in Maryland.
• Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. MD includes the District of Columbia; Arlington, Clarke, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Spotsylvania, Stafford, and Warren Counties and Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, and Manassas Park cities in Virginia; Calvert, Charles, and Prince George’s Counties in Maryland; and Jefferson County in West Virginia.
• Winchester, Va.-W.Va. MSA includes Frederick County and Winchester city in Virginia and Hampshire County in West Virginia.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/ro3/. If you have additional questions, you can contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at (215) 597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone:  202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.