Highest Paying Cities for Environmental Science Teacher (2026)
This page looks at highest paying cities for Environmental Science Teacher through Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest official BLS wage baseline. It shows which cities lead on pay, how big the gap is after the top spot, and where job opportunities are most concentrated.
In practice, San Francisco, CA currently leads at $136,900/year, while Minneapolis, MN gives you a useful second benchmark at $129,210. That makes it easier to judge whether the leader is far ahead or part of a tighter upper tier.
📅 Updated April 2026📊 Modeled salary benchmarks🇺🇸 Environmental Science Teacher · 12 markets ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
San Francisco, CA
$137K est.
2
Minneapolis, MN
$129K est.
3
Los Angeles, CA
$123K est.
4
Seattle, WA
$117K est.
5
Charlotte, NC
$112K est.
#1 City
San Francisco, CA
$137K
Markets Ranked
12
top markets
Data Layer
Metro
Careerclev salary model
Top Employment
90
employment estimate
Advertisement
Advertisement
Highest Paying Cities for Environmental Science Teacher: Full Ranking
If you're comparing the best cities for environmental science teacher, San Francisco, CA sits at the top of this 12-market ranking at $136,900 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to Minneapolis, MN at $129,210, which helps show whether the pay curve drops quickly or stays fairly tight after the leader. On entry-level pages, Careerclev uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy for starting pay, because the public source data does not offer a clean entry-level field for every role.
1
San Francisco, CA
90 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
100% benchmark
$136,900
official baseline $137K
2
Minneapolis, MN
50 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$129,210
official baseline $129K
3
Los Angeles, CA
100 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$123,369
official baseline $123K
4
Seattle, WA
100 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$116,989
official baseline $117K
5
Charlotte, NC
40 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$112,014
official baseline $112K
6
New York, NY
620 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$109,353
official baseline $109K
7
Boston, MA
220 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$107,990
official baseline $108K
8
Amherst Town, MA
60 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$107,557
official baseline $108K
9
Atlanta, GA
190 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$106,786
official baseline $107K
10
Washington, DC
180 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$106,501
official baseline $107K
11
Albany, NY
60 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$106,364
official baseline $106K
12
Dallas, TX
90 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$98,505.0
official baseline $98.5K
What Environmental Science Teacher Do
Before the pay ranking means much, it helps to understand the work itself. Environmental Science Teacher salary markets are easier to compare when the underlying role is clear.
This role combines strong pay potential with a specific preparation path and day-to-day work profile.
Environmental Science Teacher Salary Trend
This market ranking is local, but the longer pay direction behind environmental science teacher is easier to read from the national salary trend. That helps show whether the role is sitting on a stable long-run wage climb or just posting a short-term local spike.
Careerclev's current 2026 estimate applies an annual modeled growth rate of 2.8% from the last confirmed BLS benchmark year, using wage history and employment outlook where available.
2026·$94.7KEstimated
$84.7K
2020
$82.0K
2021
$83.0K
2022
$88.4K
2023
$89.7K
2024
$92.1K
2025*
$94.7K
2026*
Official Data
May 2024 BLS
2020–2026 trend (est.)
↑ 11.8%
Forecast method
Trend + outlook model
* 2024–2026 values are modeled estimates extending from the last confirmed BLS benchmark. The last confirmed BLS figure ($89.7K, 2024) is extended with recent wage trend history, employment outlook, and tech-market signals where available, then replaced when official data is published.
Advertisement
Entry-Level Pay Signals
A high median salary only tells half the story. What matters for career planning is where starting pay actually lands. Because BLS does not publish a clean entry-level label for every role, Careerclev uses lower wage percentiles as a transparent proxy. San Francisco, CA shows an estimated early-career pay signal of $103,227, compared with a long-run median of $136,900. In turn, that gap gives a better feel for both long-run upside and how quickly a role starts rewarding experience.
Job
Entry Proxy
Median Salary
Prep Path
Typical Education
San Francisco, CA
$103,227
$136,900
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Minneapolis, MN
$84,520.0
$129,210
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Los Angeles, CA
$79,060.0
$123,369
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Seattle, WA
$89,823.0
$116,989
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Charlotte, NC
$80,517.0
$112,014
Varies
Education path varies by employer
New York, NY
$81,912.0
$109,353
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Boston, MA
$82,873.0
$107,990
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Amherst Town, MA
$85,820.0
$107,557
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Jobs With Strong Demand
Pay ceilings matter more when the local labor market is deep enough to generate real openings. In Environmental Science Teacher, New York, NY combines a salary of $109,353 with roughly 620 employed workers, which makes it one of the more accessible high-pay options on this list. By contrast, some specialties rank higher on salary but operate as narrower niches where openings are harder to find and entry paths are longer.
Very Deep Market
New York, NY
$109,353
620 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Very Deep Market
Boston, MA
$107,990
220 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Atlanta, GA
$106,786
190 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Washington, DC
$106,501
180 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Los Angeles, CA
$123,369
100 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Seattle, WA
$116,989
100 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Salary vs Employment
The highest-paying job is not always the largest market, and that distinction changes the practical calculus. San Francisco, CA leads on salary at $136,900, while New York, NY supports roughly 620 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.
San Francisco, CASOC 25-1053
$137K
90
Minneapolis, MNSOC 25-1053
$129K
50
Los Angeles, CASOC 25-1053
$123K
100
Seattle, WASOC 25-1053
$117K
100
Charlotte, NCSOC 25-1053
$112K
40
New York, NYSOC 25-1053
$109K
620
Boston, MASOC 25-1053
$108K
220
Amherst Town, MASOC 25-1053
$108K
60
How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically
Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In Environmental Science Teacher, the gap between San Francisco, CA at $136,900 and the early-pay signal from San Francisco, CA at $103,227 shows why access, market size, and training timelines belong in the same conversation as the headline number. That is where this page becomes more useful than a simple ranking list.
1
Match salary to access realistically
A high median means little if there are only a handful of openings per year. Check the employment estimate alongside the salary. A role with 620 workers in Environmental Science Teacher is fundamentally easier to enter than one with a few hundred.
2
Factor in education and licensure timelines
Some of the highest-paying roles on this list sit in prep bands such as Varies and often pair that with expectations like education path varies by employer. Build that timeline into your planning before targeting the salary ceiling.
3
Separate entry pay from long-run upside
The entry proxy column in this guide gives you an early-career anchor. A role that starts at $103,227 and scales to $136,900 offers a very different career arc than one that starts and peaks near the same figure.
4
Check the work before chasing the pay
Compare the day-to-day work with the training path before you commit. A role can rank highly on pay and still be a poor fit if the work itself does not match the kind of problems, environment, or responsibilities you want.
Advertisement
Related High-Pay Pages
These related pages are the most useful next steps from this ranking. They keep the same high-pay context for Environmental Science Teacher, then branch into nearby market views and role-specific pages such as Boston, MA and New York, NY. If this page answers the pay question but not the career question, start here.
High-pay rankings are most useful when you read them alongside the core salary guide, the career entry path, and a few nearby role comparisons. That turns this page from a ranking into a better decision route for environmental science teacher.
These questions cover the practical parts of the ranking: how entry pay is estimated, why wage fields sometimes differ by source, and how to compare the top salary with the real size of the job market.
Which city pays the most for Environmental Science Teacher?▼
San Francisco, CA currently leads this environmental science teacher ranking at $136,900 per year in Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest available BLS OEWS wage baseline.
Is the entry-level pay data directly from BLS?▼
Not exactly. BLS publishes wage percentiles rather than experience-level labels, so Careerclev uses the 25th percentile (or the low-end wage where available) as an entry-pay proxy. It is a transparent approximation, not a direct label.
Which city pays the most for Environmental Science Teacher?▼
San Francisco, CA currently leads this environmental science teacher pay ranking at $136,900 per year, with an employment estimate of 90. Use the salary gap and employment depth together when comparing the strongest markets.
What kind of preparation does Environmental Science Teacher usually require?▼
Environmental Science Teacher is currently tagged as varies in the O*NET prep model. The most common education signal is education path varies by employer, while the training path is described as training path varies.
Does the top-paying market also have the deepest employment base?▼
Not always. New York, NY may support a deeper employment base than the #1 salary market, which can make them more practical despite a lower pay ceiling.
How should I compare salary with accessibility?▼
Use the ranking salary, entry-pay proxy, employment estimate, and preparation path together. The best target is usually the role that balances strong pay with a realistic path in.
Can a lower-ranked job be a better target than San Francisco, CA?▼
Yes. A lower-ranked role can be the better choice if it has a shorter prep path, stronger entry pay, more openings, or a work profile that fits you better than San Francisco, CA.
Why do some high-paying roles look hard to enter?▼
Many top-paying roles sit behind longer training, licensing, or related-experience requirements. That is why Careerclev shows preparation signals next to salary instead of treating all high-paying jobs as equally accessible.
🔬
Data Sources & MethodologyRankings use Careerclev salary facts built from BLS OEWS wage data and extended through Careerclev's current salary projection model where applicable. National pages use U.S. aggregate data, state pages use state-level data, and city pages use the BLS metro dataset behind the largest-city public label. Category labels are derived from BLS Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) major group codes, while prep-path notes come from imported O*NET job-zone and career requirement data where available.