Average Salary

• In May 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the average annual salary for a teacher instructing pupils at the elementary school level -- which includes first-grade teachers -- was $53,150. Calculated from wage data supplied by over 1.5 million elementary school teachers, this salary is equivalent to a monthly income of $4,429. First-grade teachers are also likely to receive benefits such as paid vacations and pension contributions.
  
  

Salary by Industry

• The vast majority of first-grade teachers are employed in public and private elementary schools. The BLS reported that the average annual pay in this sector of the education industry was $53,190 as of May 2009. Other employment opportunities for first-grade teachers are found in religious organizations and local government agencies. The bureau listed the average pay in these sectors as $42,070 and $51,940, respectively.
  
  

Salary by Location

• Pay analysis website SalaryExpert surveyed wages in some major cities and listed New York, Boston and Chicago as the locations in which a first-grade teacher was likely to earn the best rates. Salaries averaged $68,079, $67,963 and $63,681, respectively, in April 2011. In contrast, pay in Charlotte, North Carolina, was listed at $45,423. The BLS found that, at the state level, Rhode Island and Alaska had the highest average salaries -- $68,410 and $68,070, respectively -- while North Dakota was listed at just $42,880.
  
  

Outlook

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment opportunities for teachers across the educational spectrum, including those teaching first-grade pupils, will increase by approximately 13 percent over the decade from 2008 to 2018. This rate is in line with the top estimate for the growth of the country as a whole, expected to be between 7 and 13 percent over the same period. The BLS predicts that teachers will find the most opportunities if they are willing to work in rural or low-income areas, which traditionally struggle to attract professionals.
  
  

Special Education

• Within first-grade teaching are teachers who instruct pupils with special educational needs, such as physical or mental disabilities, or behavioral and emotional difficulties. The BLS reported that, as of 2009, the average salary for special education teachers at the elementary school level was $53,770. Alaska was the top-paying state, averaging $70,320, while wage levels in West Virginia averaged just $40,880.