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Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary pay in Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY and Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary is $125,770 per year in Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY. It is $72,890 per year in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY is 72.5% above Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-1113 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists Not published wage and salary jobs in Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY and 380 in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings