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

Among the 14 metropolitan areas in Pennsylvania, only Philadelphia and Reading had wages significantly above the national average for three of the largest teaching professions—secondary, middle, and elementary school teachers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These two areas were located in the southeastern corner of the Commonwealth. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that no area in Pennsylvania had wages that fell measurably below those for the nation in all three 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 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, please see Technical Note.)

The Philadelphia area had 68,810 secondary, middle, and elementary school teachers, the largest number among the 14 metropolitan areas in the Commonwealth. Nearly two-thirds (44,570) of the Philadelphia area’s teachers were located in the Philadelphia metropolitan division, consisting of Philadelphia County and the four surrounding suburban counties of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery. Pittsburgh, with 25,900, had Pennsylvania’s second-largest number of teachers in these three occupations. Employment levels for teachers in each of the remaining areas were less than 11,000. (See table B. The Philadelphia area’s other two divisions, Camden and Wilmington, are located entirely in New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland and their data have not been presented in this release.)

Wages for secondary school teachers in metropolitan areas in Pennsylvania

Two metropolitan areas in the Commonwealth had wages for secondary school teachers that exceeded the national average. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md., was the highest-paying metropolitan area in Pennsylvania for secondary school teachers at $60,960 per year, nearly $5,000 above the U.S. average. The wage for secondary school teachers in Reading, at $59,150, was also measurably higher than the national level. Both of these areas were located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth. (See chart 1.) Altoona, located in central Pennsylvania, was the only metropolitan area with a significantly below-average wage for secondary teachers at $46,690, more than $9,000 below the national wage.

Wages for middle school teachers in metropolitan areas in Pennsylvania

The York-Hanover metropolitan area paid top wages for middle school teachers in the Commonwealth at $64,660 per year. Five other metropolitan areas had an average wage significantly above that for the nation, four of which had wages above $60,000: Philadelphia, Reading, Lancaster, and Allentown. All six of the areas with significantly above-average wages for this occupation were located in the eastern half of the Commonwealth. (See chart 2.)  No metropolitan area had wages for middle school teachers that were measurably lower than the national average.

Wages for elementary school teachers in metropolitan areas in Pennsylvania

The Lancaster metropolitan area paid top wages for elementary school teachers in the Commonwealth at $60,710 per year. In addition to Lancaster, four other areas had wages significantly above the national average—Allentown ($59,150), York ($58,870), Philadelphia ($57,410), and Reading ($56,330). All five of these areas were located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth. (See chart 3.)  In six other metropolitan areas spread throughout Pennsylvania, wages for elementary school teachers were measurably below the U.S. average, with Johnstown ($46,040) and Altoona ($46,850) reporting the lowest wage levels.

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 Delaware Department of Labor; the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation; the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development; and the Pennsylvania Center for Workforce Information and Analysis. 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 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.

• Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania and Warren County in New Jersey.
• Altoona, Pa. MSA includes Blair County in Pennsylvania.
• Erie, Pa. MSA includes Erie County in Pennsylvania.
• Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa. MSA includes Cumberland, Dauphin, and Perry Counties in Pennsylvania.
• Johnstown, Pa. MSA includes Cambria County in Pennsylvania.
• Lancaster, Pa. MSA includes Lancaster County in Pennsylvania.
• Lebanon, Pa. MSA includes Lebanon County in Pennsylvania.
• Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. MSA
  • Camden, N.J. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey.
  • Philadelphia, Pa. MD includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania.
  • Wilmington, Del.-Md.-N.J. MD includes New Castle County in Delaware, Cecil County in Maryland, and Salem County in New Jersey.
• Pittsburgh, Pa. MSA includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties in Pennsylvania.
• Reading, Pa. MSA includes Berks County in Pennsylvania.
• Scranton—Wilkes-Barre, Pa. MSA includes Lackawanna, Luzerne, and Wyoming Counties in Pennsylvania.
• State College, Pa. MSA includes Centre County in Pennsylvania.
• Williamsport, Pa. MSA includes Lycoming County in Pennsylvania.
• York-Hanover, Pa. MSA includes York County in Pennsylvania.

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.