ESP Earnings

Key Takeaways

More than a third of all ESPs working full-time earn less than $25,000 per year, and 11.7% earn less than $15,000.
Among K-12 ESPs working full-time, 13% earn less than $15,000. Within higher education, nearly 7% earned less than $15,000.

$35,401

Average earnings for education support professionals

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25%

More than a quarter of PK-12 ESP have reported participating in or utilizing federal assistance programs.

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ESP Earnings

This report provides earnings data for education support professionals (ESPs) working in K–12 schools and higher education institutions.

The data are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS), a large, continuously-collected survey that uses a nationwide sample.

As a result, the data presented here provide a picture of ESPs working in public schools as a whole rather than NEA’s ESP membership.

Earnings averages are calculated using five years of ACS data (2016-2020), while other tables use three years of data (2018-20). Earnings data are adjusted to 2021 dollars and are termed 2021–2022 to reflect the academic calendar.

Key Findings

There are over 3.0 million education support professionals (ESPs) working in public education, 75% of whom work in K–12 schools, and 25% of whom work at higher education institutions.

In K–12 schools, the most common career family for ESPs is paraeducator (40.3%), followed by clerical (16%) and custodial (15.3%). For higher education, clerical positions are the most common (38%), followed by paraeducators, which includes graduate assistants (19.3%) and technical services (15.1%).

More than three-quarters of all ESPs work full-time, which is defined as 30 or more hours per week. This is slightly higher for those working at K–12 schools (79.6%) and slightly lower in higher education (64.4%).

Among ESPs working full-time, average earnings in 2021-22 were $35,401. This average was slightly lower for K–12 ($33,177) and higher in higher education ($44,292).

More than a third of all ESPs working full-time earn less than $25,000 per year, and 11.7% earn less than $15,000. Among those working in K–12 schools, 39.6% earn less than $25,000, and 13% earn less than $15,000. Within higher education, 16.4% earn less than $25,000, and 6.9 percent earn less than $15,000.

The average earnings for ESP has risen from $31,905 in 2012-13 to $35,401 in 2021-22. When adjusted for inflation, the salary for ESP in 2013 dollars has fallen from $31,905 to $28,734.

In states where there are bargaining laws covering ESPs, the average salary is $37,695. In states that do not have a bargaining law but bargaining may take place, average ESP earnings is $32,992. In states where bargaining is prohibited, average ESP earnings is $31,497.

In a recent NEA survey, more than a quarter of PK-12 ESP have reported participating in or utilizing federal assistance programs. 7% reported utilizing free grocery or free meal programs, 7% participate in Medicaid and 4% utilize SNAP benefits.

A little over one-fifth of PK-12 ESP do not work a full 12-month contract. At the end of the school year, they are laid off, and only 8% of those ESP are eligible for unemployment benefits during the time that they are laid off.

Charts

Filter by State:

State	Salary 2020-21	Rank 2020-21	Salary 2021-22	Rank 2021-22	2020-21 to 2021-22 Percent Change	2020-21 to 2021-22 Change Rank
Alabama	$28,418	40	$28,708	41	1.0%	23
Alaska	$43,845	2	$42,241	3	-3.8%	51
Arizona	$28,492	39	$29,079	40	2.0%	14
Arkansas	$27,802	42	$28,050	44	0.9%	26
California	$39,005	7	$39,321	7	0.8%	28
Colorado	$31,674	26	$32,574	22	2.8%	9
Connecticut	$39,492	6	$39,502	6	0.0%	39
Delaware	$44,738	1	$43,543	2	-2.7%	49
District of Columbia	$40,794	3	$43,811	1	6.9%	1
Florida	$30,775	28	$31,286	27	1.6%	18
Georgia	$29,296	36	$29,616	35	1.1%	22
Hawaii	$38,515	9	$38,984	8	1.2%	21
Idaho	$25,830	51	$26,681	49	3.2%	6
Illinois	$34,289	14	$34,814	14	1.5%	19
Indiana	$29,355	35	$29,574	37	0.7%	29
Iowa	$29,538	31	$29,928	32	1.3%	20
Kansas	$26,737	46	$26,705	47	-0.1%	40
Kentucky	$26,891	44	$26,686	48	-0.8%	43
Louisiana	$27,096	43	$28,156	43	3.8%	4
Maine	$31,805	24	$30,856	28	-3.1%	50
Maryland	$38,851	8	$38,755	9	-0.3%	41
Massachusetts	$37,364	11	$37,080	12	-0.8%	42
Michigan	$30,133	29	$30,303	31	0.6%	33
Minnesota	$32,859	18	$33,155	19	0.9%	25
Mississippi	$26,258	49	$25,826	51	-1.7%	48
Missouri	$29,489	33	$29,507	38	0.1%	38
Montana	$30,038	30	$29,756	33	-1.0%	45
Nebraska	$29,429	34	$30,358	30	3.1%	8
Nevada	$36,525	12	$37,210	10	1.8%	17
New Hampshire	$29,506	32	$30,547	29	3.4%	5
New Jersey	$40,250	4	$40,346	4	0.2%	36
New Mexico	$26,876	45	$27,602	45	2.6%	11
New York	$39,586	5	$39,922	5	0.8%	27
North Carolina	$29,228	37	$29,349	39	0.4%	34
North Dakota	$31,715	25	$32,029	24	1.0%	24
Ohio	$33,474	17	$33,717	18	0.7%	31
Oklahoma	$26,121	50	$25,881	50	-0.9%	44
Oregon	$32,158	23	$32,342	23	0.6%	32
Pennsylvania	$34,020	15	$34,716	15	2.0%	15
Rhode Island	$37,653	10	$37,114	11	-1.5%	46
South Carolina	$28,409	41	$29,579	36	4.0%	3
South Dakota	$26,644	47	$28,317	42	5.9%	2
Tennessee	$26,524	48	$27,080	46	2.1%	13
Texas	$29,067	38	$29,677	34	2.1%	12
Utah	$32,781	19	$33,846	17	3.2%	7
Vermont	$32,198	22	$33,092	20	2.7%	10
Virginia	$32,755	20	$32,835	21	0.2%	35
Washington	$35,468	13	$36,150	13	1.9%	16
West Virginia	$31,285	27	$31,329	26	0.1%	37
Wisconsin	$33,638	16	$33,883	16	0.7%	30
Wyoming	$32,431	21	$31,963	25	-1.5%	47
United States	$32,837		$33,177		1.0%

Filter by State:

State	Salary 2020-21	Rank 2020-21	Salary 2021-22	Rank 2021-22	2020-21 to 2021-22 Percent Change	2020-21 to 2021-22 Change Rank
Alabama	$42,166	28	$42,427	29	0.6%	18
Alaska	$46,239	14	$45,754	16	-1.1%	38
Arizona	$43,369	25	$43,969	22	1.4%	13
Arkansas	$37,276	46	$37,306	48	0.1%	23
California	$51,216	3	$51,089	3	-0.3%	28
Colorado	$44,718	21	$44,753	19	0.1%	24
Connecticut	$51,715	2	$52,327	2	1.2%	15
Delaware	$40,209	37	$40,645	37	1.1%	16
District of Columbia	$50,197	4	$49,035	5	-2.4%	46
Florida	$40,564	36	$40,459	38	-0.3%	29
Georgia	$39,683	39	$39,672	40	0.0%	26
Hawaii	$46,862	13	$46,590	12	-0.6%	35
Idaho	$37,248	47	$35,658	50	-4.5%	49
Illinois	$44,843	20	$44,356	21	-1.1%	40
Indiana	$41,266	34	$41,444	32	0.4%	20
Iowa	$47,292	10	$47,043	10	-0.5%	33
Kansas	$39,400	41	$40,152	39	1.9%	11
Kentucky	$37,775	43	$38,821	44	2.7%	8
Louisiana	$41,619	33	$41,407	34	-0.5%	32
Maine	$40,726	35	$38,279	46	-6.4%	50
Maryland	$46,209	15	$45,719	17	-1.1%	39
Massachusetts	$49,510	5	$49,041	4	-1.0%	36
Michigan	$47,481	9	$47,666	8	0.4%	21
Minnesota	$47,596	8	$48,510	7	1.9%	10
Mississippi	$35,238	51	$34,898	51	-1.0%	37
Missouri	$42,462	27	$42,751	27	0.7%	17
Montana	$37,338	45	$39,318	41	5.0%	3
Nebraska	$41,814	30	$42,560	28	1.8%	12
Nevada	$46,132	17	$44,800	18	-3.0%	48
New Hampshire	$47,997	7	$44,705	20	-7.4%	51
New Jersey	$53,202	1	$53,200	1	0.0%	25
New Mexico	$36,558	49	$38,258	47	4.4%	4
New York	$48,845	6	$48,582	6	-0.5%	34
North Carolina	$43,002	26	$42,338	30	-1.6%	44
North Dakota	$46,115	18	$47,627	9	3.2%	5
Ohio	$45,881	19	$46,001	14	0.3%	22
Oklahoma	$35,570	50	$38,351	45	7.3%	2
Oregon	$44,454	22	$43,869	24	-1.3%	42
Pennsylvania	$43,923	24	$43,899	23	-0.1%	27
Rhode Island	$47,039	12	$45,944	15	-2.4%	47
South Carolina	$41,781	32	$42,968	26	2.8%	6
South Dakota	$36,919	48	$36,805	49	-0.3%	30
Tennessee	$38,419	42	$39,283	42	2.2%	9
Texas	$41,785	31	$42,282	31	1.2%	14
Utah	$42,034	29	$41,413	33	-1.5%	43
Vermont	$39,650	40	$38,927	43	-1.9%	45
Virginia	$44,354	23	$43,867	25	-1.1%	41
Washington	$47,197	11	$47,022	11	-0.4%	31
West Virginia	$39,977	38	$41,090	36	2.7%	7
Wisconsin	$46,209	16	$46,448	13	0.5%	19
Wyoming	$37,766	44	$41,154	35	8.2%	1
United States	$44,225		$44,292		0.2%

Filter by State:

State	Salary 2020-21	Rank 2020-21	Salary 2021-22	Rank 2021-22	2020-21 to 2021-22 Percent Change	2020-21 to 2021-22 Change Rank
Alabama	$31,766	37	$32,114	35	1.1%	20
Alaska	$44,142	1	$42,737	3	-3.3%	50
Arizona	$31,349	38	$32,050	38	2.2%	9
Arkansas	$29,870	42	$29,829	43	-0.1%	41
California	$41,413	5	$41,606	5	0.5%	30
Colorado	$34,713	23	$35,399	21	1.9%	12
Connecticut	$41,248	6	$41,581	6	0.8%	23
Delaware	$44,044	2	$43,113	2	-2.2%	49
District of Columbia	$41,889	4	$44,440	1	5.7%	1
Florida	$32,704	31	$33,167	30	1.4%	15
Georgia	$31,315	39	$31,761	41	1.4%	14
Hawaii	$40,248	10	$40,655	8	1.0%	22
Idaho	$29,085	45	$29,169	48	0.3%	34
Illinois	$36,773	15	$36,981	15	0.6%	28
Indiana	$32,232	33	$32,432	33	0.6%	26
Iowa	$34,530	25	$34,376	25	-0.5%	44
Kansas	$29,470	44	$29,441	47	-0.1%	40
Kentucky	$28,783	48	$28,872	49	0.3%	33
Louisiana	$29,804	43	$30,476	42	2.2%	8
Maine	$33,274	27	$31,866	39	-4.4%	51
Maryland	$40,523	8	$40,490	9	-0.1%	39
Massachusetts	$39,495	11	$39,149	11	-0.9%	46
Michigan	$34,558	24	$34,606	24	0.1%	36
Minnesota	$35,928	18	$36,215	20	0.8%	24
Mississippi	$28,477	49	$28,011	51	-1.7%	47
Missouri	$32,033	35	$32,059	37	0.1%	38
Montana	$31,968	36	$32,101	36	0.4%	31
Nebraska	$32,614	32	$33,319	29	2.1%	10
Nevada	$37,936	12	$38,157	13	0.6%	27
New Hampshire	$32,073	34	$32,477	32	1.2%	18
New Jersey	$42,037	3	$42,194	4	0.4%	32
New Mexico	$29,076	46	$29,732	45	2.2%	7
New York	$40,954	7	$41,173	7	0.5%	29
North Carolina	$32,847	30	$32,890	31	0.1%	37
North Dakota	$35,717	20	$36,679	16	2.6%	4
Ohio	$36,047	17	$36,273	19	0.6%	25
Oklahoma	$28,246	51	$28,566	50	1.1%	19
Oregon	$35,057	22	$34,935	23	-0.4%	42
Pennsylvania	$35,764	19	$36,483	18	2.0%	11
Rhode Island	$40,275	9	$39,550	10	-1.8%	48
South Carolina	$30,933	41	$32,139	34	3.8%	3
South Dakota	$28,465	50	$29,745	44	4.3%	2
Tennessee	$28,866	47	$29,614	46	2.5%	5
Texas	$31,189	40	$31,782	40	1.9%	13
Utah	$36,170	16	$36,650	17	1.3%	16
Vermont	$32,984	29	$33,773	27	2.3%	6
Virginia	$35,238	21	$35,103	22	-0.4%	43
Washington	$37,723	13	$38,221	12	1.3%	17
West Virginia	$33,044	28	$33,391	28	1.0%	21
Wisconsin	$37,192	14	$37,012	14	-0.5%	45
Wyoming	$33,686	26	$33,783	26	0.3%	35
United States	$35,124		$35,401		0.8%