This page looks at highest paying cities for History 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, Riverside, CA currently leads at $166,105/year, while San Diego, CA gives you a useful second benchmark at $135,646. 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🇺🇸 History Teacher · 12 markets ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
Riverside, CA
$166K est.
2
San Diego, CA
$136K est.
3
Ann Arbor, MI
$134K est.
4
San Francisco, CA
$133K est.
5
Fresno, CA
$130K est.
#1 City
Riverside, CA
$166K
Markets Ranked
12
top markets
Data Layer
Metro
Careerclev salary model
Top Employment
120
employment estimate
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Highest Paying Cities for History Teacher: Full Ranking
If you're comparing the best cities for history teacher, Riverside, CA sits at the top of this 12-market ranking at $166,105 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to San Diego, CA at $135,646, 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
Riverside, CA
120 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
100% benchmark
$166,105
official baseline $166K
2
San Diego, CA
160 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$135,646
official baseline $136K
3
Ann Arbor, MI
80 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$133,628
official baseline $134K
4
San Francisco, CA
250 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$132,986
official baseline $133K
5
Fresno, CA
40 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$129,826
official baseline $130K
6
Sacramento, CA
100 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$124,770
official baseline $125K
7
San Jose, CA
110 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$122,242
official baseline $122K
8
Los Angeles, CA
580 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$110,580
official baseline $111K
9
Madison, WI
90 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$110,407
official baseline $110K
10
Lansing, MI
40 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$107,431
official baseline $107K
11
Phoenix, AZ
N/A employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$107,318
official baseline $107K
12
Austin, TX
210 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$107,267
official baseline $107K
What History Teacher Do
Before the pay ranking means much, it helps to understand the work itself. History 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.
History Teacher Salary Trend
This market ranking is local, but the longer pay direction behind history 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 0.1% from the last confirmed BLS benchmark year, using wage history and employment outlook where available.
2026·$81.7KEstimated
$76.9K
2020
$78.1K
2021
$79.4K
2022
$82.1K
2023
$81.6K
2024
$81.7K
2025*
$81.7K
2026*
Official Data
May 2024 BLS
2020–2026 trend (est.)
↑ 6.3%
Forecast method
Trend + outlook model
* 2024–2026 values are modeled estimates extending from the last confirmed BLS benchmark. The last confirmed BLS figure ($81.6K, 2024) is extended with recent wage trend history, employment outlook, and tech-market signals where available, then replaced when official data is published.
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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. Ann Arbor, MI shows an estimated early-career pay signal of $107,033, compared with a long-run median of $133,628. 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
Riverside, CA
$105,035
$166,105
Varies
Education path varies by employer
San Diego, CA
$84,648.0
$135,646
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Ann Arbor, MI
$107,033
$133,628
Varies
Education path varies by employer
San Francisco, CA
$98,532.0
$132,986
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Fresno, CA
$98,083.0
$129,826
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Sacramento, CA
$87,339.0
$124,770
Varies
Education path varies by employer
San Jose, CA
$99,133.0
$122,242
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Los Angeles, CA
$83,598.0
$110,580
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 History Teacher, Los Angeles, CA combines a salary of $110,580 with roughly 580 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
Los Angeles, CA
$110,580
580 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Very Deep Market
San Francisco, CA
$132,986
250 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Austin, TX
$107,267
210 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
San Diego, CA
$135,646
160 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Riverside, CA
$166,105
120 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
San Jose, CA
$122,242
110 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. Riverside, CA leads on salary at $166,105, while Los Angeles, CA supports roughly 580 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.
Riverside, CASOC 25-1125
$166K
120
San Diego, CASOC 25-1125
$136K
160
Ann Arbor, MISOC 25-1125
$134K
80
San Francisco, CASOC 25-1125
$133K
250
Fresno, CASOC 25-1125
$130K
40
Sacramento, CASOC 25-1125
$125K
100
San Jose, CASOC 25-1125
$122K
110
Los Angeles, CASOC 25-1125
$111K
580
How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically
Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In History Teacher, the gap between Riverside, CA at $166,105 and the early-pay signal from Ann Arbor, MI at $107,033 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 580 workers in History 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 $107,033 and scales to $133,628 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.
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Related High-Pay Pages
These related pages are the most useful next steps from this ranking. They keep the same high-pay context for History Teacher, then branch into nearby market views and role-specific pages such as Austin, TX and Ann Arbor, MI. 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 history 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 History Teacher?▼
Riverside, CA currently leads this history teacher ranking at $166,105 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 History Teacher?▼
Riverside, CA currently leads this history teacher pay ranking at $166,105 per year, with an employment estimate of 120. Use the salary gap and employment depth together when comparing the strongest markets.
What kind of preparation does History Teacher usually require?▼
History 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. Los Angeles, CA 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 Riverside, 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 Riverside, 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.
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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.