Highest Paying States for Engineering Teacher (2026)
This page looks at highest paying states for Engineering Teacher through Careerclev's current salary model, built from the latest official BLS wage baseline. It shows which states lead on pay, how big the gap is after the top spot, and where job opportunities are most concentrated.
In practice, Kansas currently leads at $135,029/year, while California gives you a useful second benchmark at $134,446. 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🇺🇸 Engineering Teacher · 12 markets ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
Kansas
$135K est.
2
California
$134K est.
3
Illinois
$134K est.
4
Virginia
$132K est.
5
Montana
$132K est.
#1 State
Kansas
$135K
Markets Ranked
12
top markets
Data Layer
State
Careerclev salary model
Top Employment
260
employment estimate
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Highest Paying States for Engineering Teacher: Full Ranking
If you're comparing the best states for engineering teacher, Kansas sits at the top of this 12-market ranking at $135,029 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to California at $134,446, 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
Kansas
260 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
100% benchmark
$135,029
official baseline $135K
2
California
2,060 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$134,446
official baseline $134K
3
Illinois
1,210 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$133,956
official baseline $134K
4
Virginia
1,060 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$132,155
official baseline $132K
5
Montana
240 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$131,874
official baseline $132K
6
Georgia
690 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$131,531
official baseline $132K
7
Michigan
1,760 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$131,229
official baseline $131K
8
Texas
4,740 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$130,490
official baseline $130K
9
Louisiana
250 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$129,386
official baseline $129K
10
New York
3,840 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$127,918
official baseline $128K
11
Maryland
720 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$125,597
official baseline $126K
12
Iowa
480 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$116,362
official baseline $116K
What Engineering Teacher Do
Before the pay ranking means much, it helps to understand the work itself. Engineering 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.
Engineering Teacher Salary Trend
This market ranking is local, but the longer pay direction behind engineering 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 1.2% from the last confirmed BLS benchmark year, using wage history and employment outlook where available.
2026·$109KEstimated
$104K
2020
$105K
2021
$104K
2022
$107K
2023
$106K
2024
$107K
2025*
$109K
2026*
Official Data
May 2024 BLS
2020–2026 trend (est.)
↑ 4.8%
Forecast method
Trend + outlook model
* 2024–2026 values are modeled estimates extending from the last confirmed BLS benchmark. The last confirmed BLS figure ($106K, 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. Georgia shows an estimated early-career pay signal of $130,687, compared with a long-run median of $131,531. 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
Kansas
$84,692.0
$135,029
Varies
Education path varies by employer
California
$104,546
$134,446
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Illinois
$88,107.0
$133,956
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Virginia
$85,504.0
$132,155
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Montana
$113,843
$131,874
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Georgia
$130,687
$131,531
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Michigan
$102,724
$131,229
Varies
Education path varies by employer
Texas
$77,977.0
$130,490
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 Engineering Teacher, Texas combines a salary of $130,490 with roughly 4,740 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
Texas
$130,490
4,740 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Very Deep Market
New York
$127,918
3,840 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
California
$134,446
2,060 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Michigan
$131,229
1,760 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Illinois
$133,956
1,210 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Virginia
$132,155
1,060 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. Kansas leads on salary at $135,029, while Texas supports roughly 4,740 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.
KansasSOC 25-1032
$135K
260
CaliforniaSOC 25-1032
$134K
2,060
IllinoisSOC 25-1032
$134K
1,210
VirginiaSOC 25-1032
$132K
1,060
MontanaSOC 25-1032
$132K
240
GeorgiaSOC 25-1032
$132K
690
MichiganSOC 25-1032
$131K
1,760
TexasSOC 25-1032
$130K
4,740
How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically
Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In Engineering Teacher, the gap between Kansas at $135,029 and the early-pay signal from Georgia at $130,687 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 4,740 workers in Engineering 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 $130,687 and scales to $131,531 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 Engineering Teacher, then branch into nearby market views and role-specific pages such as Montana and Illinois. 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 engineering 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 state pays the most for Engineering Teacher?▼
Kansas currently leads this engineering teacher ranking at $135,029 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 state pays the most for Engineering Teacher?▼
Kansas currently leads this engineering teacher pay ranking at $135,029 per year, with an employment estimate of 260. Use the salary gap and employment depth together when comparing the strongest markets.
What kind of preparation does Engineering Teacher usually require?▼
Engineering 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. Texas 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 Kansas?▼
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 Kansas.
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.