Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education Salary in Missouri

In Missouri, elementary school teachers, except special education earn a median $50,910 a year, well below the national median of $63,970 (−20%); the state ranks 48th of 51 states by median. Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education earn 7% more than the median across all occupations in Missouri ($47,800). Among neighbouring states, Illinois, Nebraska, Kentucky, Iowa, Tennessee, Kansas and Arkansas pay more (up to $75,320 in Illinois) and Oklahoma pays less (down to $48,200 in Oklahoma). Missouri employs 33,180 elementary school teachers, except special education, 11.3 per 1,000 jobs, the 13th largest count of any state. A location quotient of 1.27 means the occupation is more concentrated in Missouri than nationally.

Missouri vs the United States, May 2025

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education: wage percentiles, mean, employment, jobs per 1,000 and location quotient in Missouri and nationally, May 2025
AreaBasisPercentile wageMeanEmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
10th25thMedian75th90th
MissouriHourly******33,18011.301.27
Annual$39,980$47,200$50,910$61,620$78,820$56,730
United StatesHourly******1,388,390––
Annual$47,960$57,710$63,970$81,450$104,340$72,650
$0$20k$40k$60k$80k10th10th: $39,980$39,98025th25th: $47,200$47,200MedianMedian: $50,910$50,91075th75th: $61,620$61,62090th90th: $78,820$78,820US median
Missouri annual wage at the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th and 90th percentiles; the line marks the US median. The same numbers are in the table above.
Rank by median
48th of 51 states
Rank by employment
13th of 51 states
Location quotient
1.27
Jobs per 1,000
11.30

Ranks count the 50 states and DC with a published value. The location quotient is the occupation's share of Missouri's employment divided by its national share; 1.00 means the same share as the nation. Take-home pay at these wages: FastCalc's take-home pay calculator.

Metropolitan areas in Missouri

8 metropolitan areas and 4 nonmetropolitan areas touching Missouri publish a row for elementary school teachers, except special education, sorted by median. Areas crossing a state line are listed under every state they touch; a linked metro has its own profile.

AreaMedian hourlyMedian annual10th pct (annual)90th pct (annual)EmploymentJobs per 1,000Location quotient
Kansas City, MO-KS*$61,060$48,120$78,94011,50010.491.17
St. Louis, MO-IL*$60,650$47,210$83,75013,44010.021.12
Springfield, MO*$49,380$40,280$71,9102,40010.761.21
St. Joseph, MO-KS*$49,140$39,010$74,35077014.191.59
Joplin, MO-KS*$48,770$40,050$68,6901,10012.581.41
Jefferson City, MO*$47,960$38,770$71,9706007.490.84
Columbia, MO*$47,920$37,580$73,6108407.830.88
Cape Girardeau, MO-IL*$47,100$39,080$61,1001,03023.002.58
Central Missouri nonmetropolitan area*$47,340$37,290$70,0802,17014.021.57
North Missouri nonmetropolitan area*$47,330$38,360$58,3002,14020.152.26
Southeast Missouri nonmetropolitan area*$47,160$37,850$59,5503,20019.442.18
Southwest Missouri nonmetropolitan area*$46,140$39,050$58,5101,44018.082.02

Neighbouring states

StateMedian hourlyMedian annualEmploymentLocation quotient
Missouri*$50,91033,1801.27
Arkansas*$52,70012,5901.08
Iowa*$60,58017,3001.24
Illinois*$75,32061,5201.13
Kansas*$56,45014,3501.12
Kentucky*$60,61019,0801.07
Nebraska*$62,3808,7100.95
Oklahoma*$48,20018,5001.21
Tennessee*$59,98028,2400.96

See the national page for Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education (every state ranked) and the Missouri wage profile (every occupation in the state).

Source and notes

Data: BLS OEWS May 2025, released 2026-05-15. Cross-industry estimates, all ownerships. BLS page: OEWS Missouri estimates.

*
Wage estimate not available.
  • Annual wages assume 2,080 hours a year at the hourly rate; occupations BLS publishes on one basis only show an en dash (–) on the other.
  • Employment is rounded to the nearest 10 by BLS. Where BLS withholds a cell, nothing is estimated in its place.