Among the 12 metropolitan areas in New York, 8 had wages significantly above the national average for secondary and elementary school teachers, and 7 had significantly higher wages for middle school teachers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. With the exception of Buffalo, the high wage metropolitan areas for teachers were located in either eastern New York or the central part of the state. Deborah A. Brown, the Bureau's regional commissioner, noted that except for secondary school teachers in Glens Falls, no metropolitan area in New York had wages that fell measurably below those for the nation in any of the three teaching occupations. Nationwide, the average (mean) wage for secondary school teachers was $56,760, for middle school teachers, $55,780, and for elementary school teachers, $55,270. (See table A. For comprehensive definitions of metropolitan areas in New York, please see Technical Note.)

Of the 12 metropolitan areas located entirely or partially in the state, the New York-Northern New Jersey area had by far the largest numbers of secondary, middle, and elementary school teachers (197,350). The New York-Northern New Jersey area is made up of four metropolitan divisions; over 50 percent of the area's teachers worked in the New York-White Plains-Wayne metropolitan division and an additional 17 percent worked in the Nassau-Suffolk division.. (See table B. The area's other divisions, Newark-Union and Edison, contain no counties in New York, and their data are not presented in this release.) Buffalo-Niagara Falls and Rochester were the two other metropolitan areas in New York with at least 10,000 teachers.

Table A. Average (mean) annual wages for secondary, middle, and elementary school teachers in the United States and metropolitan areas in New York, May 2011

Area	Secondary School		Middle School		Elementary School
United States	$56,760		$55,780		$55,270
New York	71,820	*	73,920	*	69,380	*
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	61,930	*	61,810	*	58,650	*
Binghamton	60,990	*	60,990	*	58,560	*
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	59,440	*	59,890	*	58,560
Elmira	64,140		63,950		54,260
Glens Falls	55,310	*	56,110		53,700	*
Ithaca	63,660	*	55,740		73,890	*
Kingston	74,970	*	77,120	*	74,930	*
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island	75,510	*	74,520	*	71,700	*
Nassau-Suffolk	88,390	*	90,650	*	90,560	*
New York-White Plains-Wayne	75,300	*	75,000	*	69,700	*
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown	70,760	*	72,120	*	70,080	*
Rochester	58,610		57,170		56,350
Syracuse	66,650	*	67,440	*	65,020	*
Utica-Rome	56,910		57,330		56,500
Footnotes: (*) The mean annual wage for this area is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.

Table B. Employment of secondary, middle, and elementary school teachers in the United States and metropolitan areas in New York, May 2011

Area	Secondary School	Middle School	Elementary School
United States	1,004,850	642,820	1,415,590
New York	67,330	39,920	88,960
Albany-Schenectady-Troy	3,810	1,570	3,440
Binghamton	850	750	1,130
Buffalo-Niagara Falls	4,210	2,300	6,020
Elmira	400	260	690
Glens Falls	620	170	680
Ithaca	220	50	510
Kingston	690	430	770
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island	65,560	43,240	88,550
Nassau-Suffolk	11,820	8,010	13,930
New York-White Plains-Wayne	33,850	20,230	53,140
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown	2,510	2,360	2,370
Rochester	5,130	2,100	5,440
Syracuse	3,120	1,840	2,780
Utica-Rome	1,100	530	1,490

Wages for secondary school teachers in metropolitan areas in New York

New York-Northern New Jersey was the highest-paying metropolitan area in New York for secondary school teachers, at $75,510 per year, more than $18,000 above the U.S. average, followed by Kingston, at $74,970. Wages in both of these areas were measurably higher than that for the nation. In addition, six other areas had wages that were significantly above average, including Poughkeepsie ($70,760), Syracuse ($66,650), and Ithaca ($63,660). Three other areas had wages that were not measurably different from the national average. Glens Falls was the only New York area to report wages that were significantly below that for the nation. (See chart 1. For the purpose of completeness, the chart also includes nonmetropolitan areas.)

Wages for middle school teachers in metropolitan areas in New York

Leading the seven areas with significantly higher wages for middle school teachers was Kingston, averaging $77,120 per year, followed by the New York-Northern New Jersey area, at $74,520 and Poughkeepsie, at $72,120. Four other areas had wages that were measurably higher than that for the nation. The lowest average wages in the state were recorded in centrally-located Ithaca ($55,740) and in Glens Falls ($56,110). (See chart 2.)

Wages for elementary school teachers in metropolitan areas in New York

Eight areas reported measurably higher wages for elementary school teachers, led by Kingston and Ithaca, averaging $74,930 and $73,890, respectively. New York-Northern New Jersey ($71,700) and Poughkeepsie ($70,080) followed the pay leaders. No metropolitan area in the state had wages that were significantly lower than that for the nation for this occupation. (See chart 3.)

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 New York State Department of Labor and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and about 800 detailed occupations for the nation, 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 2011 estimates is 77.3 percent based on establishments and 73.3 percent based on employment. May 2011 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2011, November 2010, May 2010, November 2009, May 2009, and November 2008. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf.

Nearly all the occupations in this release are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system; 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 definitions.  The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.

Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Schoharie Counties in New York.

Binghamton, N.Y. MSA includes Broome and Tioga Counties in New York.

Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y. MSA includes Erie and Niagara Counties in New York.

Elmira, N.Y. MSA includes Chemung County in New York.

Glens Falls, N.Y. MSA includes Warren and Washington Counties in New York.

Ithaca, N.Y. MSA includes Tompkins County in New York.

Kingston, N.Y. MSA includes Ulster County in New York.

New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. MSA

• Edison, N.J. Metropolitan Division (MD) includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Somerset Counties in New Jersey.
• Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. (MD) includes Nassau and Suffolk Counties in New York.
• Newark-Union, N.J.-Pa. (MD) includes Essex, Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex, and Union Counties in New Jersey and Pike County in Pennsylvania.
• New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J. (MD) includes Bergen, Hudson, and Passaic Counties in New Jersey; and Bronx, Kings, New York, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, and Westchester Counties in New York.

Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, N.Y. (MSA) includes Dutchess and Orange Counties in New York.

Rochester, N.Y. (MSA) includes Livingston, Monroe, Ontario, Orleans, and Wayne Counties in New York.

Syracuse, N.Y. (MSA) includes Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego Counties in New York.

Utica-Rome, N.Y. (MSA) includes Herkimer and Oneida Counties in New York.

Last Modified Date: July 12, 2012