Average Wages & Benefits for a Preschool Teacher (2023)

FAQs

Average Wages & Benefits for a Preschool Teacher? ›

The average preschool teacher salary in May 2020 was ​$36,550​ per year. Fifty percent of preschool teachers annually earned a median salary between ​$26,220​ and ​$42,350​, with a reported median salary of ​$31,930​ per year.

Preschool is a great option for many families. Preschool advantages include a consistent structure and routine, and a focus on early education (which can inspire a love of learning). Most programs also teach children a variety of cognitive, social, emotional, and language skills.

Preschool Teacher Salary By State: Highest-Paid Preschool Teachers by State [2023] Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of preschool teacher salary by state for the United States: Hawaii has the highest preschool teacher salary of $43,575.

Daycare worker salary ranges between $18,000 - $37,000, with the average total compensation falling around $27,490 per year in 2021.

Best States For a Preschool Teacher

Our research found that New Mexico is the best state for preschool teachers, while Hawaii and California are ranked highest in terms of median salary. New Mexico has a median salary of $38,878 and Hawaii has the highest median salary among all 50 states for preschool teachers.

Do you need a degree to teach preschool in California? ›

California preschool teachers need to obtain specific certification credentials as educators. You don't have to earn a bachelor's degree, but you'll need to complete either educational or experience minimum hours before you can begin teaching preschool students in a classroom.

The California State Preschool Program defines a full-day program as one that lasts at least 6.5 hours. Program lengths vary, but are often not long enough to cover the hours that working parents need care for their children. That is especially the case if a parent works a regular eight-hour day.

To become a preschool teacher in Florida, you must complete an approved teacher education program, which consists of a bachelor's degree or higher and all necessary requirements to become a licensed teacher in Florida, including a 10-week field experience in a preschool setting.

Florida VPK Programs are typically 3 hours each day. Many providers offer “wrap-around care” which covers the remainder of the day for a fee. The VPK School Year Program includes a total of 540 instructional hours. The VPK Summer Program includes 300 instructional hours.

The average salary for a daycare teacher in Florida is $21,500 per year.

The pros of being a preschool teacher include working with children and helping to shape the future leaders of the world, while the cons include not making very much money and dealing with a lot of day-to-day stress. Becoming a preschool teacher can be extremely rewarding.

Most preschool programs are designed for children between ages of two and five years old. Preschools tend to fill up quickly, so it's best to start looking for options when your child is around one year old or even sooner.

According to Bouffard, self-regulation -- the ability to manage one's behavior and emotions in a given situation -- is the the most important skill to foster at this age. “Good pre-K programs effectively build students' self-regulation skills that will help them experience success in pre-K and beyond,” said Bouffard.

Lack of parent engagement and communication.

As any teacher can attest to, trying to build an engaged and communicative parent base is another one of the prominent issues in early childhood education.

Early childhood educators are, in a way, the building blocks of learning. They help lay the foundation for education and discovery, for the rest of a child's life. Research shows that without early education, children are likely to fall behind throughout their academic careers.

What is the role of the teacher in early childhood education? ›

Duties and Responsibilities

Plans and prepares classroom setting; oversees safety and educational programs; supervises children in the classroom; provides a supportive environment in which children can learn and practice appropriate and acceptable individual and group behaviors.

According to an OECD report, Luxembourg (a European country) has the highest-paid teachers in the world.

As of May 17, 2023, the average monthly pay for a Teacher in the United States is $2,743 a month. While ZipRecruiter is seeing monthly salaries as high as $4,500 and as low as $1,292, the majority of Teacher salaries currently range between $2,000 (25th percentile) to $3,083 (75th percentile) across the United States.

Job Outlook

Employment of preschool teachers is projected to grow 15 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations. About 63,100 openings for preschool teachers are projected each year, on average, over the decade.

Highest salary that a Teacher can earn is ₹5.1 Lakhs per year (₹42.5k per month). How does Teacher Salary in India change with experience? An Entry Level Teacher with less than three years of experience earns an average salary of ₹2.2 Lakhs per year.

How old are most preschool teachers? ›

Individuals who want to teach in high school in California must earn a Single Subject Teaching Credential.

Parents of 4-year-old children may choose to enroll their child in any available TK program, CSPP, Head Start, private preschool or any other prekindergarten program for which the family is eligible.

Teachers are exempt if their primary duty is teaching, tutoring, instructing or lecturing in this activity as a teacher in educational establishment.

A two-day attendance routine is ideal for children starting in preschool to get into the rhythm and become settled. If your child has not attended childcare before preschool, it does not matter; our Transition to School program provides and equips children appropriately for this milestone.

When a child attends preschool on a consistent basis, typically four consecutive days and often full-time five days per week enrollment, experience has shown that regularity of attendance with the same group of students and teachers encourages the child's sense of security and self-confidence.

Florida was one of the first states in the country to offer free prekindergarten to all 4-year-olds. Children must live in Florida and be 4 years old on or before Sept. 1 of the current school year to be eligible.

As of May 16, 2023, the average annual pay for a Vpk Teacher in Florida is $20,506 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $9.86 an hour. This is the equivalent of $394/week or $1,708/month.

What degree do I need to be a preschool teacher in Texas? ›

a) A graduate or undergraduate degree in early childhood education or early childhood special education or a non- early childhood education undergraduate degree with a documented minimum of 15 hours of coursework in early childhood education; or b) Documented completion of the Texas School Ready Training Program (TSR ...

Providers are paid for a full VPK day when a child attends any VPK portion of the day. The state also pays for up to one day's worth of absences for every four days a child attends. VPK providers cannot charge parents for their children's absences from the VPK Program.

The base student allocation appropriated for 2021-2022 remains unchanged for both the VPK Summer Program and VPK School Year Program. The base student allocation for 2021-2022 is $2,122 for the VPK Summer program and $2,486 for the VPK School-Year program.

Preschool-aged children who are 3 to 5 years old should get around 10 to 13 total hours of sleep per day .

How much does a Pre K Teacher make in Florida? As of May 17, 2023, the average annual pay for a Pre K Teacher in Florida is $23,983 a year. Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $11.53 an hour. This is the equivalent of $461/week or $1,998/month.

What do preschool teachers struggle with? ›

One often overlooked challenge of teaching is the physical demands associated with the job. Preschool teachers rarely have time to sit and rest during the school day. They spend most of the day on their feet, bending, lifting, dancing, and playing with children.

As a preschool teacher, you face several new and unique challenges on an everyday basis. You often find yourself struggling with establishing the right curriculum, dealing with the different needs of toddlers at the same time, and communicating minor details about the kids with the parents.

School districts often offer substantial health care benefits packages, another reason many teachers choose the profession as self-pay has become expensive. Benefits usually include dental, health, and vision.

While teachers receive low pay, they receive several financial benefits that can help balance the scales. Although teachers earn less than other college graduates, they often qualify for special financial programs. One of the best programs is loan forgiveness.

There is a somewhat noble feeling that goes along with teaching preschool education. Knowing that you are taking care of the most vulnerable people among us, helping them learn and grow into responsible people – and keeping them safe – is a big responsibility. One that you will definitely feel good about.

What is the most important trait of an early childhood teacher? ›

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, the most important characteristic for teachers of early childhood development is enthusiasm and passion for children. This goes well beyond enjoying being will children. It means wanting to make a difference to each and every child.