Teacher Salary in Texas 2026,
$62,760 Median | BLS Data by City

Texas teachers earn a median $62,760 a year per BLS OEWS May 2025, just below the national figure but with no state income tax deducted. The middle half earns between $59,460 and $65,410 — an unusually tight band — and the full range is $48,500 to $73,570. Texas pay is set by district salary schedules that must meet a state minimum.

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington leads at $65,070, then Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands at $64,500, El Paso at $63,800, Brownsville-Harlingen at $63,350 and Killeen-Temple at $63,120. The top-to-bottom spread across major Texas metros is under two thousand dollars, so within-metro district choice and stipends matter far more than geography.

Earn a bachelor's degree, complete an educator preparation programme — Texas has an unusually large alternative certification sector alongside university routes — pass the required TExES content and pedagogy examinations, and apply to the Texas Education Agency for a standard certificate under the State Board for Educator Certification's rules.

Because most Texas district schedules have modest step increases beyond the early years, and because the state minimum salary schedule anchors the bottom while district budgets constrain the top. The result is that a twenty-year Texas teacher earns much closer to a five-year teacher than in states with steep longevity schedules. Stipends and designations, not steps, are the realistic way to move up.

Largely, on take-home. Texas's median is under two percent below the national figure in gross terms, and the absence of state income tax more than closes that gap for most teachers. The offset is property tax, which is high in Texas and falls on teachers who own homes, so the honest answer depends on whether you rent or buy.

It creates a second pay axis alongside the salary schedule. Districts that participate can designate teachers as recognised, exemplary or master based on student growth and evaluation, and the state funds an allotment that follows that designation, weighted toward high-need and rural campuses. In participating districts it is the single largest lever available to an individual teacher, and it is a real part of why the state 90th percentile reaches $73,570.

Because the state minimum salary schedule sets a floor everywhere and district schedules cluster above it, while the big suburban districts are constrained by their own budgets rather than competing on pay. El Paso at $63,800 and Brownsville-Harlingen at $63,350 sit within about two thousand dollars of Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington at much lower housing costs, which makes them stronger on real income than the ranking suggests.

As a market where the entry point is competitive and the ceiling is low. If you are early in your career, Texas pays comparably to most of the country and takes no state income tax. If you are fifteen years in and considering a move here, check the receiving district's step schedule carefully: many Texas districts cap the years of outside experience they will credit, which can place an experienced teacher well below where the same career would sit at home.