High School Teacher Salary Guide & Career Outlook


The high school teacher salary in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States is very similar at NZ$70,049 ($50,547), AU$64,623 ($48,705), and $48,072. The median high school teacher salary is lower in Canada: C$54,987 ($40,696) and the in the United Kingdom: £27,797 ($31,122). Finally, in India, they earn Rs 301,462 ($4,692) and in South Africa, the salary is R191,993 ($14,897).

This high school teacher career guide not only covers the median salary, but also the impact of experience and industry. Following this is a description of the work environment, job benefits, and job outlook.

How Much Does a High School Teacher Make per Year by Country?

High School Teacher Salary US Canada UK Australia New Zealand India South Africa
Hourly Pay $20.78 C$25.92 ($19.18) £10.20 ($11.42) AU$32.43 ($24.44) NZ$33.67* ($24.30) Rs 484.79 ($7.53) R130.00 ($10.09)
Annual Pay $48,072 C$54,987 ($40,696) £27,797 ($31,122) AU$64,623 ($48,705) NZ$70,049 ($50,547) Rs 301,462 ($4,692) R191,993 ($14,897)

Pay information denoted with a (*) indicates the hourly pay was correlated from the annual salary.

High School Teacher Salary Influencing Factors

High school teachers typically earn a slighter higher salary than middle school teachers. All of the salary information and experience levels used in this high school teacher career guide come from Payscale.

1. Location

How Much Does a High School Teacher Make in the US?

High School Teacher Salary US Per Year Per Hour
Minimum $33,852 $11.43
Maximum $73,330 $43.08
Bonus/Tips $396.77 to $7,954 No additional pay
Overtime No additional pay $11.71 to $74.00
Total Pay $33,378 to $74,031

How Much Does a High School Teacher Make in Canada?

High School Teacher Salary Canada Per Year Per Hour
Minimum C$35,795 C$12.20
Maximum C$92,250 C$49.23
Bonus/Tips C$750.00 to C$15,000 No additional pay
Overtime No additional pay C$20.00
Total Pay C$34,938 to C$92,658

How Much Does a High School Teacher Make in the UK?

High School Teacher Salary UK Per Year Per Hour
Minimum £19,945 £6.36
Maximum £40,059 £24.32
Bonus/Tips £613.00 to €9,787 No additional pay
Overtime No additional pay £17.50
Total Pay £19,682 to £40,535

How Much Does a High School Teacher Make in Australia?

High School Teacher Salary Australia Per Year Per Hour
Minimum AU$44,600 AU$21.50
Maximum AU$92,615 AU$55.50
Bonus/Tip AU$199.11 to AU$5,166 No additional pay
Overtime No additional pay AU$122.18
Total Pay AU$44,689 to AU$93,515

How Much Does a High School Teacher make in New Zealand?

High School Teacher Salary New Zealand Per Year Per Hour
Minimum NZ$47,513 NZ$22.84*
Maximum NZ$85,633 NZ$41.16*
Bonus/Tip No additional pay No additional pay
Overtime No additional pay No additional pay
Total Pay NZ$47,672 to NZ$85,309

How Much Does a High School Teacher make in India?

High School Teacher Salary India Per Year Per Hour
Minimum Rs 133,316 Rs 101.37
Maximum Rs 596,895 Rs 1,991
Bonus/Tips Rs 1,007 to Rs 49,388 No additional pay
Overtime No additional pay Rs 99.67 to Rs 1,454
Total Pay Rs 581,443 to Rs 6,104,189

How Much Does a High School Teacher Make in South Africa?

High School Teacher Salary South Africa Per Year Per Hour
Minimum R120,403 R35.51
Maximum R295,729 R241.61
Bonus/Tips R1,559 to R29,031 No additional pay
Overtime No additional pay No additional pay
Total Pay R120,890 to R300,671

2. Experience

In the United States, pay for high school teachers increases along a linear path. The high school teacher starting salary is about $40,000 and sees an increase up to $60,000 for those with more than 20 years of experience. A similar level of increase happens in South Africa and India. The salary in Canada starts at 10 percent below the average and ends 38 percent above it. The salary curve in the United Kingdom sees flat growth in the middle accentuated by significant growth at the beginning and the end of their career.

The most common experience range in the United States is those with 1 to 4 years of experience. However, there is only 1 percentage point between that category and those with 10 to 19 years. In South Africa and the United Kingdom, India, Australia the 1 to 4 year of experience category is significantly higher. In New Zealand, those with 10 to 19 years of experience are the most frequent participants in entering their salary information.

3. Industry

All high school teachers work in the education field. Their actual work environment will look very different depending on the type of school they work in. Within the United States, there are private and public high schools. Under the private umbrella includes both religious and secular schools. Public high schools consist of traditional brick-and-mortar schools as well as charter and cyber charter schools. In general, teachers who work in religious private schools get paid less than their public school counterparts. Unions are commonplace for public school teachers.

  • Mean salary of high school teachers working in Texas: $55,500 per year
  • Median salary of high school teachers working in California: $74,940 per year
  • Mean salary of high school teachers working in New York: $81,410 per year

The actual school year will vary depending on which country the teacher is working in. Some countries, like India, have areas that are extremely poor and there is a lack of quality schooling. In the United States, teachers typically have the summers off. Whereas, in Australia, the school year has four terms. Each one of these terms last for about 10 weeks. Their summer vacation is during December and January.

Schedule & Working Hours

Teachers work full-time for the most part. In the United States, the typical day starts at about 7:30 AM and ends at 3:30 PM. Sometimes, the teacher will have to take work home. They do not have to work over the summer. However, some teachers will teach summer school. Others could work at another location over the summer or tutor students.

Bonuses & Benefits

Aside from the traditional benefits given to full-time professional employees, teachers get the added benefit of being responsible for shaping the lives of teenagers. Aside from the home, children spend most of their time at school. Those typical benefits mentioned include healthcare, sick leave, paid time off, and a pension. The public school teacher pension is often a contentious debate among legislators.

The table below shows healthcare benefits by country. A (–) indicate that there was no health care information available.

Country United States Canada United Kingdom Australia New Zealand India South Africa
Medical 85 77 22 26 34 40
Dental 64 64 6 7 6 5
Vision 51 55 3 7 4 6
None 13 20 77 71 64 58

Career Outlook

The job outlook for high school teachers in the United States is estimated to grow 6 percent through the year 2024. Schools try to reduce the number of teachers needed by making classes bigger. The research on negative impacts of increasing class size are mixed but do show that reducing class size is one of the most effective options to improve school performance. Since high school teachers specialize in one field, there are some areas where there will be higher demand than others. In particular, teachers for special education or math and science will be sought after.

A common career progression is to stay as a high school teacher but some can become administrators in the school system.

While it is more common to be a female high school teacher, there are a significant number of male teachers. In the United States and Australia, the teacher workforce is 53 percent female. The highest proportion of females is seen in India at 67 percent and the lowest is in Canada at 51 percent.

Conclusion

High school teachers are essential to the continued education of a population. They get to specialize in one field and teach a large number of students in one area. The pay is moderate, but they do get extensive time off and the opportunity to pursue a side income. Another position in the educational systems that requires great communication skills and patience is that of a speech pathologist.

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