🏆 2026 Market Rankings

Highest Paying States for Forestry and Conservation Science Teacher (2026)

This page looks at highest paying states for Forestry and Conservation Science 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, Michigan currently leads at $140,489/year, while Virginia gives you a useful second benchmark at $134,093. 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🇺🇸 Forestry And Conservation Science Teacher · 12 markets ranked⏱ 12 min read
1
Michigan
$140K est.
2
Virginia
$134K est.
3
Tennessee
$109K est.
4
Maine
$108K est.
5
Indiana
$107K est.
#1 State
Michigan
$140K
Markets Ranked
12
top markets
Data Layer
State
Careerclev salary model
Top Employment
60
employment estimate
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Highest Paying States for Forestry and Conservation Science Teacher: Full Ranking

If you're comparing the best states for forestry and conservation science teacher, Michigan sits at the top of this 12-market ranking at $140,489 per year in Careerclev's current salary model. From there, the second spot belongs to Virginia at $134,093, 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
Michigan
60 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
100% benchmark
$140,489
official baseline $140K
2
Virginia
70 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$134,093
official baseline $134K
3
Tennessee
30 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$109,044
official baseline $109K
4
Maine
40 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$107,655
official baseline $108K
5
Indiana
40 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$107,318
official baseline $107K
6
West Virginia
50 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$106,077
official baseline $106K
7
South Carolina
40 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$106,077
official baseline $106K
8
Texas
30 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$105,614
official baseline $106K
9
Montana
70 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$105,540
official baseline $106K
10
Oregon
120 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$104,026
official baseline $104K
11
Georgia
40 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$102,742
official baseline $103K
12
Minnesota
40 employed · state market
High payData year 2024Varies
vs #1
$102,700
official baseline $103K

What Forestry and Conservation Science Teacher Do

Before the pay ranking means much, it helps to understand the work itself. Forestry and Conservation 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.

Forestry and Conservation Science Teacher Salary Trend

This market ranking is local, but the longer pay direction behind forestry and conservation 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 1.4% from the last confirmed BLS benchmark year, using wage history and employment outlook where available.

2026·$104KEstimated
$87.4K
2020
$82.3K
2021
$96.5K
2022
$102K
2023
$101K
2024
$102K
2025*
$104K
2026*
Official Data
May 2024 BLS
20202026 trend (est.)
18.8%
Forecast method
Trend + outlook model

* 2024–2026 values are modeled estimates extending from the last confirmed BLS benchmark. The last confirmed BLS figure ($101K, 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. Michigan shows an estimated early-career pay signal of $135,334, compared with a long-run median of $140,489. In turn, that gap gives a better feel for both long-run upside and how quickly a role starts rewarding experience.

JobEntry ProxyMedian SalaryPrep PathTypical Education
Michigan$135,334$140,489VariesEducation path varies by employer
Virginia$106,771$134,093VariesEducation path varies by employer
Tennessee$109,044$109,044VariesEducation path varies by employer
Maine$86,709.0$107,655VariesEducation path varies by employer
Indiana$89,286.0$107,318VariesEducation path varies by employer
West Virginia$88,287.0$106,077VariesEducation path varies by employer
South Carolina$91,538.0$106,077VariesEducation path varies by employer
Texas$82,143.0$105,614VariesEducation 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 Forestry and Conservation Science Teacher, Oregon combines a salary of $104,026 with roughly 120 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
Oregon
$104,026
120 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Very Deep Market
Virginia
$134,093
70 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Montana
$105,540
70 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Michigan
$140,489
60 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
West Virginia
$106,077
50 employed
Training path varies in a varies pathway.
Strong Market
Maine
$107,655
40 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. Michigan leads on salary at $140,489, while Oregon supports roughly 120 workers locally, a useful sanity check before committing to a long training path for a role with limited local openings.

MichiganSOC 25-1043
$140K
60
VirginiaSOC 25-1043
$134K
70
TennesseeSOC 25-1043
$109K
30
MaineSOC 25-1043
$108K
40
IndianaSOC 25-1043
$107K
40
West VirginiaSOC 25-1043
$106K
50
South CarolinaSOC 25-1043
$106K
40
TexasSOC 25-1043
$106K
30

How to Choose a High-Paying Job Strategically

Salary rankings are a starting point, not a decision. In Forestry and Conservation Science Teacher, the gap between Michigan at $140,489 and the early-pay signal from Michigan at $135,334 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 120 workers in Forestry and Conservation 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 $135,334 and scales to $140,489 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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Next Pages to Read

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 forestry and conservation science teacher.

FAQs

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 Forestry and Conservation Science Teacher?
Michigan currently leads this forestry and conservation science teacher ranking at $140,489 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 Forestry and Conservation Science Teacher?
Michigan currently leads this forestry and conservation science teacher pay ranking at $140,489 per year, with an employment estimate of 60. Use the salary gap and employment depth together when comparing the strongest markets.
What kind of preparation does Forestry and Conservation Science Teacher usually require?
Forestry and Conservation 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. Oregon 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 Michigan?
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 Michigan.
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.
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