Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors Salary - BLS OEWS Wage Benchmarks
SOC 25-3011 · National · May 2025 OEWS Data
Median Annual Salary
$61,547
$29.59/hr
Verified BLS OEWS data · Updated May 18, 2026
Source: BLS OEWS · Published May 15, 2026
Next refresh: May 2027
Get notified when this number updates
Personal or work email, both work. No account needed. Unsubscribe anytime.
The national median salary for Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors is $61,547 per year ($29.59/hr) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025. The middle 50% of earners make between $49,109 and $77,688 annually. Top earners at the 90th percentile reach $98,030 per year. There are approximately 37,310 adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors employed in the United States.
About This Role
BLS Standard Occupational Classification 2018
Teach or instruct out-of-school youths and adults in basic education, literacy, or English as a Second Language classes, or in classes for earning a high school equivalency credential.
Career Outlook
BLS Employment Projections · 2024-2034
10-year growth
-13.7%
Much slower than average
Annual openings
4K
per year, on avg
Workforce today
41K
as of 2024
Why those openings exist
0% from new growth100% from people leaving the role
Most openings come from replacement, not growth. Retention matters more than recruiting here.
Typical entry requirements
Education
Bachelor's degree
Experience
None
On-the-job training
None
Industry Wage Breakdown
Top 5 industries by employment · median annual wage, sector-specific
Industry
Workforce
Median Pay
Elementary and Secondary Schools
NAICS 611100
14K
$63,010
Junior Colleges
NAICS 611200
10K
$61,250
Other Schools and Instruction
NAICS 611600
4K
$53,850
State Government, excluding Schools and Hospitals (OEWS Designation)
NAICS 999200
2K
$72,650
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools
NAICS 611300
2K
$73,920
Wage range across top 5 industries: $53,850 to $73,920 (37% spread)
Wage Percentiles
Hourly & annualized (2,080 hours)
Percentile
Hourly Rate
Annual Salary
P10
$20.10
$41,808
P25
$23.61
$49,109
P50MEDIAN
$29.59
$61,547
P75
$37.35
$77,688
P90
$47.13
$98,030
Market Context Signal
JOLTS · professional sector
Cooling
Openings Rate
4.2%
Quits Rate
2.0%
Professional & Business Services openings tumbled 318K in March -- the largest single-sector drop in this release. Openings rate fell from 5.5% to 4.2%. Layoffs jumped to 527K (+99K). White-collar demand has cooled abruptly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors salary?
The national median salary for Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors is $61,547 per year ($29.59/hr) according to BLS OEWS May 2025 data. The middle 50% earn between $49,109 and $77,688 annually.
How much do top-earning adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors make?
The 90th percentile salary for Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors is $98,030 per year ($47.13/hr). The 75th percentile is $77,688 per year.
What is the entry-level salary for adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors?
Entry-level Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors (10th percentile) earn approximately $41,808 per year ($20.10/hr). The 25th percentile is $49,109 per year.
Wage figures on this page come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, May 2025 release. OEWS surveys roughly 1.1 million establishments annually. It is the most comprehensive employer-reported wage dataset in the United States.
P10 through P90 percentiles represent the wage distribution across all surveyed employers (not self-reported by workers). Geographic adjustments use BLS-derived cost multipliers calibrated from regional wage variation.
Wages are estimates. Individual compensation depends on experience, education, employer size, industry, and negotiation. Use this as benchmark context, not absolute ground truth.
CompSignal is a free labor market intelligence tool built for HR, compensation, and talent acquisition teams. We make BLS data, the same primary source Mercer and Radford cross-reference in their paid surveys, searchable and actionable without an enterprise subscription.
Built and maintained by Falcon Incentives, a compensation strategy and incentive design consultancy.