Highest and lowest paying education jobs in Santa Maria
Whether you picture hard-working teachers buying school supplies for their students or genius professors shaping future leaders, it's fair to say education encompasses a wide variety of jobs. So much so that there's room to specialize and pursue your passion.
Historically, teachers' pay is a rather contentious topic. The average teacher salary is about $2,000 less than a decade ago after adjusting for inflation. Despite this, many of these jobs are rewarding in more ways than one. In other words, education can be very lucrative—particularly within specialty fields.
Stacker compiled a list of the highest and lowest paying education jobs in Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are ranked by 2021 annual mean wage. Keep reading to discover the highest and lowest paying education jobs in your city.
#17. Tutors
- Annual mean salary: $37,930
- #154 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 630
National
- Annual mean salary: $41,780
- Employment: 147,100
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Pittsfield, MA ($82,910)
--- Santa Fe, NM ($68,440)
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($60,110)
#16. Teaching assistants, except postsecondary
- Annual mean salary: $39,720
- #22 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,430
National
- Annual mean salary: $31,760
- Employment: 1,187,270
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($46,390)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($45,080)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($42,820)
#15. Preschool teachers, except special education
- Annual mean salary: $40,060
- #71 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 480
National
- Annual mean salary: $36,460
- Employment: 391,670
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA ($49,990)
--- Ocean City, NJ ($49,720)
--- Vineland-Bridgeton, NJ ($49,560)
#14. Substitute teachers, short-term
- Annual mean salary: $41,390
- #87 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 530
National
- Annual mean salary: $38,410
- Employment: 374,620
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Prescott, AZ ($64,310)
--- Appleton, WI ($63,310)
--- Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL ($58,770)
#13. Self-enrichment teachers
- Annual mean salary: $45,620
- #116 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 460
National
- Annual mean salary: $49,230
- Employment: 216,910
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($70,350)
--- Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($66,650)
--- Utica-Rome, NY ($63,470)
#12. Library technicians
- Annual mean salary: $50,690
- #16 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 140
National
- Annual mean salary: $39,070
- Employment: 73,000
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Olympia-Tumwater, WA ($61,740)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($59,950)
--- Napa, CA ($57,890)
#11. Museum technicians and conservators
- Annual mean salary: $55,430
- #12 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 40
National
- Annual mean salary: $52,030
- Employment: 10,960
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($79,670)
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($73,740)
--- Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH ($68,180)
#10. Curators
- Annual mean salary: $65,090
- #30 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 30
National
- Annual mean salary: $63,880
- Employment: 11,030
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($96,990)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($94,020)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($86,680)
#9. Instructional coordinators
- Annual mean salary: $78,590
- #39 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 150
National
- Annual mean salary: $70,560
- Employment: 184,740
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Salem, OR ($93,890)
--- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV ($93,760)
--- Kennewick-Richland, WA ($91,430)
#8. Librarians and media collections specialists
- Annual mean salary: $78,960
- #13 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 110
National
- Annual mean salary: $64,180
- Employment: 127,790
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($94,230)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($89,990)
--- Kennewick-Richland, WA ($89,220)
#7. Kindergarten teachers, except special education
- Annual mean salary: $82,300
- #15 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 120
National
- Annual mean salary: $64,490
- Employment: 120,730
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA ($95,420)
--- Kingston, NY ($92,160)
--- Salinas, CA ($90,490)
#6. Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school
- Annual mean salary: $84,700
- #15 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 150
National
- Annual mean salary: $67,090
- Employment: 187,070
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Salinas, CA ($102,210)
--- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ($92,730)
--- Chico, CA ($88,430)
#5. Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors
- Annual mean salary: $84,830
- #7 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 30
National
- Annual mean salary: $60,650
- Employment: 38,260
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA ($96,640)
--- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ($92,290)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($89,740)
#4. Elementary school teachers, except special education
- Annual mean salary: $87,200
- #11 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,790
National
- Annual mean salary: $67,080
- Employment: 1,329,280
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA ($92,860)
--- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA ($91,430)
--- Salinas, CA ($91,280)
#3. Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Annual mean salary: $87,630
- #16 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 350
National
- Annual mean salary: $66,880
- Employment: 592,000
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- Bakersfield, CA ($109,060)
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($107,280)
--- Yuba City, CA ($94,480)
#2. Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education
- Annual mean salary: $92,740
- #14 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 1,180
National
- Annual mean salary: $69,530
- Employment: 1,020,240
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($104,010)
--- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA ($101,980)
--- Bakersfield, CA ($97,490)
#1. Career/technical education teachers, secondary school
- Annual mean salary: $103,300
- #10 highest pay among all metros
- Employment: 60
National
- Annual mean salary: $68,960
- Employment: 84,360
- Metros with highest average pay:
--- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($122,160)
--- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($121,490)
--- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA ($115,060)