Early Childhood Education Jobs in New York

Top salaries? Check. Outstanding job growth projections? Check.

New York’s early childhood educators have long enjoyed working in a system that not only tops the charts for teacher pay and job opportunities but is fully committed to the success of its earliest learners.

New York has long been held up as a model for effective early childhood learning, starting in 1998 when the state began its universal pre-k program… to 2013 when it launched the New York State Priority Pre-K program, along with competitive grants to cover high-need children in low-income school districts… to 2017 when more than 75% of the state’s children were served in school-day programs.

Work in New York State as an early childhood educator and you’ll be part of one of the most innovative, comprehensive early childhood systems in the nation. In other words, there may be no better place to spread your professional wings and begin exploring what makes this state so darn attractive for early childhood educators.

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New York Salary Rankings

in the US for Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

in the US for Education Administrators, Preschool and Childcare

in the US for Childcare Workers

in the US for Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School

in the US for Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

in the US for Special Education Teachers, Preschool

Early Childhood Jobs in New York

From teaming metro areas to the tiny towns upstate, New York is home to high-paying jobs in early childhood education. New York offers the highest salaries for special ed preschool teachers in the country and comes in within the top five for most of the other jobs that fall within the broader sphere of early childhood education. New York City is the natural focus of many of these numbers, but even ECE professionals in Rochester, Poughkeepsie and other cities outside the big city can look forward to great salaries, and without the high costs of big city living.

Occupation	Total Employed	Median Annual Salary	% of US Median
Childcare Workers	47,260	$28,820	117%
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education	30,790	$48,630	141%
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	28,530	$58,050	117%
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	18,790	$77,840	123%
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education	6,120	$79,410	136%
Special Education Teachers, Preschool	4,860	$83,010	135%
Education Administrators, Preschool and Childcare	4,020	$74,580	138%
= Salary below nat’l. avg. = Salary above nat’l. avg.

New York leads the nation in terms of earning potential for the handful of professions that occupy the ECE niche. Preschool teachers working in special education, for example, will find that New York is both the top paying state for that role as well as the state with the highest employment level. And these specialists aren’t alone. Even with a more than 20 percent jump expected in the number of jobs available to special ed teachers in preschools by 2026, preschool administrators and child and family social workers aren’t far behind.

Childcare Workers – New York has a lot of childcare professionals, 47,260, in fact. And they’re well-paid, earning an average annual salary of $28,820. That’s about $4,000 better than the national average.

Child, Family, and School Social Workers – 28,530 social workers in New York specialize in child, family, and school services. The average annual salary for those jobs is $58,050, which works out to $8,290 better than the national average.

Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education – There are only 6,120 kindergarten teachers in New York, but the average salary of $79,410 is more than $20,000 over the national average for those positions.

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City-Level Job Stats

Following the general trend of New York being an unbeatable location for preschool special education teachers, the New York/Newark/Jersey City region boasts the highest employment levels for that occupation out of any demographic area in the U.S. Still, it can pay to look around; isolated pockets elsewhere in the state, like Binghamton, can still beat out the big markets for a lucky few.

Preschool Teachers

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA – 35,280 teachers with a median annual salary of $40,270
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY – 1,090 teachers with a median annual salary of $28,490
Binghamton, NY – 190 teachers with a median annual salary of $27,610
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY – 1,830 teachers with a median annual salary of $26,210
Elmira, NY – 70 teachers with a median annual salary of $28,140
Glens Falls, NY – 230 teachers with a median annual salary of $25,450
Ithaca, NY – 110 teachers with a median annual salary of $41,290
Kingston, NY – 160 teachers with a median annual salary of $29,260
Rochester, NY – 1,380 teachers with a median annual salary of $27,170
Syracuse, NY – 670 teachers with a median annual salary of $25,690
Utica-Rome, NY – 120 teachers with a median annual salary of $30,640
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY – 110 teachers with a median annual salary of $30,350

Kindergarten Teachers

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA – 7,360 teachers with a median annual salary of $72,720
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY – 240 teachers with a median annual salary of $62,670
Binghamton, NY – 100 teachers with a median annual salary of $59,180
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY – 490 teachers with a median annual salary of $61,410
Glens Falls, NY – 40 teachers with a median annual salary of $63,880
Ithaca, NY – 60 teachers with a median annual salary of $54,640
Kingston, NY – 90 teachers with a median annual salary of $82,130
Rochester, NY – 670 teachers with a median annual salary of $62,840
Syracuse, NY – 230 teachers with a median annual salary of $65,250
Utica-Rome, NY – 120 teachers with a median annual salary of $67,680
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY – 50 teachers with a median annual salary of $58,330

Special Education Teachers – Preschool

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA – 3,880 teachers with a median annual salary of $73,480
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY – 330 teachers with a median annual salary of $47,220
Binghamton, NY – 150 teachers with a median annual salary of $83,320
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY – 230 teachers with a median annual salary of $62,920
Glens Falls, NY – 100 teachers with a median annual salary of $60,090
Rochester, NY – 150 teachers with a median annual salary of $55,340
Syracuse, NY – 130 teachers with a median annual salary of $73,760
Utica-Rome, NY – Median annual salary of $71,200

Special Education Teachers – Kindergarten and Elementary School

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA – 21,830 teachers with a median annual salary of $73,140
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY – 720 teachers with a median annual salary of $69,290
Binghamton, NY – 230 teachers with a median annual salary of $61,700
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY – 960 teachers with a median annual salary of $59,730
Ithaca, NY – 100 teachers with a median annual salary of $53,760
Kingston, NY – 160 teachers with a median annual salary of $85,900
Rochester, NY – 1,160 teachers with a median annual salary of $60,820
Syracuse, NY – 460 teachers with a median annual salary of $67,220
Utica-Rome, NY – 220 teachers with a median annual salary of $62,350
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY – 90 teachers with a median annual salary of $69,450

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