Highest Paying Cities for Philosophy and Religion Teacher (2026)
This page looks at highest paying cities for Philosophy and Religion 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 $129,925/year, while San Francisco, CA gives you a useful second benchmark at $121,593. 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🇺🇸 Philosophy And Religion Teacher · 12 markets ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
Riverside, CA
$130K est.
2
San Francisco, CA
$122K est.
3
Madison, WI
$107K est.
4
San Diego, CA
$107K est.
5
Sacramento, CA
$103K est.
#1 City
Riverside, CA
$130K
Markets Ranked
12
top markets
Data Layer
Metro
Careerclev salary model
Top Employment
120
employment estimate
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Highest Paying Cities for Philosophy and Religion Teacher: Full Ranking
If you're comparing the best cities for philosophy and religion teacher, Riverside, CA sits at the top of this 12-market ranking at $129,925 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to San Francisco, CA at $121,593, 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
$129,925
official baseline $130K
2
San Francisco, CA
150 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$121,593
official baseline $122K
3
Madison, WI
N/A employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$106,801
official baseline $107K
4
San Diego, CA
130 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$106,534
official baseline $107K
5
Sacramento, CA
60 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$103,017
official baseline $103K
6
Lansing, MI
40 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$102,611
official baseline $103K
7
San Jose, CA
290 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$102,254
official baseline $102K
8
Los Angeles, CA
640 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$101,679
official baseline $102K
9
Ann Arbor, MI
60 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$101,194
official baseline $101K
10
Scranton, PA
80 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$100,163
official baseline $100K
11
Austin, TX
200 employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$98,767.0
official baseline $98.8K
12
Eugene, OR
N/A employed · metro market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$97,677.0
official baseline $97.7K
What Philosophy and Religion Teacher Do
Before the pay ranking means much, it helps to understand the work itself. Philosophy and Religion 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.
Philosophy and Religion Teacher Salary Trend
This market ranking is local, but the longer pay direction behind philosophy and religion 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 3.3% from the last confirmed BLS benchmark year, using wage history and employment outlook where available.
2026·$88.8KEstimated
$76.2K
2020
$77.6K
2021
$78.8K
2022
$79.9K
2023
$83.2K
2024
$86.0K
2025*
$88.8K
2026*
Official Data
May 2024 BLS
2020–2026 trend (est.)
↑ 16.6%
Forecast method
Trend + outlook model
* 2024–2026 values are modeled estimates extending from the last confirmed BLS benchmark. The last confirmed BLS figure ($83.2K, 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. Riverside, CA shows an estimated early-career pay signal of $82,855.0, compared with a long-run median of $129,925. 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
$82,855.0
$129,925
Varies
Education path varies by employer
San Francisco, CA
$80,705.0
$121,593
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Madison, WI
$50,012.0
$106,801
Varies
Education path varies by employer
San Diego, CA
$66,736.0
$106,534
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Sacramento, CA
$81,557.0
$103,017
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Lansing, MI
$61,951.0
$102,611
Varies
Education path varies by employer
San Jose, CA
$82,558.0
$102,254
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Los Angeles, CA
$73,998.0
$101,679
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 Philosophy and Religion Teacher, Los Angeles, CA combines a salary of $101,679 with roughly 640 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
$101,679
640 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Very Deep Market
San Jose, CA
$102,254
290 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Austin, TX
$98,767.0
200 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
San Francisco, CA
$121,593
150 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
San Diego, CA
$106,534
130 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Riverside, CA
$129,925
120 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 $129,925, while Los Angeles, CA supports roughly 640 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.
Riverside, CASOC 25-1126
$130K
120
San Francisco, CASOC 25-1126
$122K
150
Madison, WISOC 25-1126
$107K
N/A
San Diego, CASOC 25-1126
$107K
130
Sacramento, CASOC 25-1126
$103K
60
Lansing, MISOC 25-1126
$103K
40
San Jose, CASOC 25-1126
$102K
290
Los Angeles, CASOC 25-1126
$102K
640
How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically
Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In Philosophy and Religion Teacher, the gap between Riverside, CA at $129,925 and the early-pay signal from Riverside, CA at $82,855.0 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 640 workers in Philosophy and Religion 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 $82,855.0 and scales to $129,925 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 Philosophy and Religion Teacher, then branch into nearby market views and role-specific pages such as Scranton, PA and Lansing, 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 philosophy and religion 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 Philosophy and Religion Teacher?▼
Riverside, CA currently leads this philosophy and religion teacher ranking at $129,925 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 Philosophy and Religion Teacher?▼
Riverside, CA currently leads this philosophy and religion teacher pay ranking at $129,925 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 Philosophy and Religion Teacher usually require?▼
Philosophy and Religion 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.