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Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School pay in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School is $59,780 per year in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA. It is $105,290 per year in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA is 43.2% below San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-2052 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 490 wage and salary jobs in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA and 3,440 in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA. 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.