How much do teachers get paid in ?

Refreshed annually
Teachers made between $39,700 and $59,700 per year in 2025, depending on the role. These figures represent the annual median wage for Arizona pre-K–12 teachers. Preschool teachers tend to be at the lower end of the range, while middle school teachers tend to be at the higher end, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates. The median wage is the midpoint — half of teachers in each role earn more, and half earn less.
For comparison, in Arizona, the median wage across all occupations was $50,100 in 2025 — about 26% higher than the median preschool teacher wage.

$39.7K

median annual wage for preschool teachers in Arizona (2025)

$59.7K

median annual wage for middle school teachers in Arizona (2025)
Among teachers working in elementary, middle, and high schools, annual pay varied by the grade level taught. In Arizona in 2025, preschool teachers earned the least, earning around $39,670 annually. Middle school teachers made the most at around $59,710 per year. In other words, middle school teachers earned about 51% more than preschool teachers.

Middle school teachers earn $59,700 annually, more than any other AZ teachers

Median annual salary of elementary and secondary school teachers, excluding teachers of students with disabilities and technical teachers (AZ, 2025)

Do Arizona teachers make more or less than the US average?

Teacher salaries vary nationwide. In 2025, Arizona teachers earned less than the national median for every grade level reported. The largest percentage difference was among preschool teachers, who earned 30% less than the national median. Middle school teachers — typically the highest-paid group — earned about 7% less than their counterparts nationwide.

Arizona teachers earn less than the national average at every level.

Median annual salary of elementary and secondary school teachers, excluding teachers of students with disabilities and technical teachers (AZ, 2025)

How much do special education teachers make in Arizona? What about technical education teachers?

Pay also varies by specialization. Teachers of students with disabilities (collected in the data as “special education”), earn about the more than general education teachers at 4 of 5 levels in Arizona. In 2025, the median wages for teachers of students with disabilities ranged from 2% lower to 52% higher than those of other teachers at the same grade level.

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The largest difference for teachers of students with disabilities was at the preschool level, where they earned $60,200 per year compared to $39,700 for other preschool teachers, a 52% difference.
Some schools, primarily middle and high schools, also employ technical teachers. These teachers provide vocational and technical training in fields such as automotive repair, culinary arts, cosmetology, and information technology, to help students develop career skills. In Arizona, their median wages were $62,900 at the high school level in 2025, 8% higher than those of general education teachers at the same level.

In Arizona, teachers of students with disabilities earned more than other teachers at several grade levels.

Median annual salary of elementary and secondary school teachers (AZ, 2025)

How does the government help low-income students?

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.