Careers / Special Education Teachers, Preschool
Special Education Teachers, Preschool — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$64,830
United States, 2025
Employment
29,510
United States, 2025
Typical education
Not recorded
Job Zone 4
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Teach academic, social, and life skills to preschool-aged students with learning, emotional, or physical disabilities. Includes teachers who specialize and work with students who are blind or have visual impairments; students who are deaf or have hearing impairments; and students with intellectual disabilities.
- O*NET code
- 25-2051.00
- Job zone
- 4
- Experience required
- None
Typical tasks
- Communicate nonverbally with children to provide them with comfort, encouragement, or positive reinforcement.
- Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws, district policies, or administrative regulations.
- Teach socially acceptable behavior, employing techniques such as behavior modification or positive reinforcement.
- Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, or changing their diapers.
- Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, or social skills, to preschool students with special needs.
- Develop individual educational plans (IEPs) designed to promote students' educational, physical, or social development.
- Prepare classrooms with a variety of materials or resources for children to explore, manipulate, or use in learning activities or imaginative play.
- Meet with parents or guardians to discuss their children's progress, advise them on using community resources, or teach skills for dealing with students' impairments.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$45,620
25th percentile
$52,210
75th percentile
$91,660
90th percentile
$130,040
Most important skills
- Active Listening4.0
- Learning Strategies4.0
- Social Perceptiveness4.0
- Speaking4.0
- Reading Comprehension4.0
- Monitoring4.0
- Critical Thinking4.0
- Instructing3.9
- Active Learning3.9
- Writing3.8
- Service Orientation3.6
- Complex Problem Solving3.4
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 18 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
18
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Learning Strategies | 4.0 | 4.3 | Not selected | 4.3 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Speaking | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Monitoring | 4.0 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Active Listening | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 4.0 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Active Learning | 3.9 | 4.1 | Not selected | 4.1 |
| Writing | 3.8 | 4.0 | Not selected | 4.0 |
| Service Orientation | 3.6 | 3.6 | Not selected | 3.6 |
| Instructing | 3.9 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.4 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Coordination | 3.3 | 3.5 | Not selected | 3.5 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.1 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.0 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Persuasion | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Systems Analysis | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Time Management | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Special Education Teachers, PreschoolHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City, MO | $119,560 | 380 | 2025 |
| San Diego, CA | $117,200 | 240 | 2025 |
| Akron, OH | $100,650 | 60 | 2025 |
| Boston, MA | $99,440 | 610 | 2025 |
| MA | $99,070 | 710 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $94,240 | 470 | 2025 |
| Fresno, CA | $93,800 | 120 | 2025 |
| Bridgeport, CT | $92,660 | 80 | 2025 |
| NJ | $92,060 | 1,720 | 2025 |
| New Haven, CT | $90,440 | 50 | 2025 |
| Hartford, CT | $89,180 | 130 | 2025 |
| CT | $87,960 | 380 | 2025 |
| WA | $86,580 | 820 | 2025 |
| Naples, FL | $86,120 | 40 | 2025 |
| McAllen, TX | $85,200 | 60 | 2025 |
| MD | $85,010 | 70 | 2025 |
| Worcester, MA | $84,040 | 50 | 2025 |
| PA | $83,510 | 490 | 2025 |
| Washington, DC | $82,760 | 440 | 2025 |
| Olympia, WA | $82,600 | 50 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Special Education Teachers, Preschool to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.