Median pay for teaching assistants runs from $20,730 in Alexandria to $57,950 in Mount Vernon-Anacortes — a 2.8× range across 526 metropolitan areas. The national median of $36,780 sits inside that range but describes no particular market.
From $27,150 at the 10th percentile to $50,040 at the 90th is only 1.84×, which is narrow. Pay for teaching assistants is set more by structure than by individual outcome — scales, steps, licensure. That makes income predictable and makes the ceiling real: the way to earn materially more is usually to change role or location, not to out-perform within this one.
5 of the ten best-paying metros for teaching assistants are in WA. When one state dominates the top of the table like this, cost of living is doing part of the work but rarely all of it — state licensing rules, public-sector pay scales and the presence of a few large employers usually explain the rest. If you are comparing an offer in WA against one elsewhere, adjust for housing before concluding anything.
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon-Anacortes WA | $57,950 | — | 1.82 | 870 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $53,950 | — | 1.1 | 21,040 |
| Bellingham WA | $51,670 | — | 1.44 | 1,200 |
| Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater WA | $51,350 | — | 1.43 | 1,700 |
| Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard WA | $50,530 | — | 1.6 | 1,370 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $49,360 | — | 0.86 | 18,710 |
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara CA | $49,010 | — | 0.7 | 7,240 |
| Portland-South Portland ME | $48,770 | — | 1.2 | 3,170 |
| Decatur IL | $48,480 | — | 1.33 | 550 |
| Napa CA | $48,450 | — | 0.74 | 530 |
| Western Washington nonmetropolitan area | $48,410 | — | 1.88 | 2,230 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma CA | $48,270 | — | 1.03 | 1,930 |
| Vallejo CA | $48,200 | — | 1.24 | 1,630 |
| Salinas CA | $48,030 | — | 1.34 | 2,290 |
| Modesto CA | $47,990 | — | 1.95 | 3,470 |
| Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura CA | $47,860 | — | 1.31 | 3,870 |
| Santa Cruz-Watsonville CA | $47,430 | — | 1.18 | 1,060 |
| Yakima WA | $47,380 | — | 2.42 | 2,150 |
| Lewiston-Auburn ME | $47,120 | — | 1.88 | 820 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara CA | $46,540 | — | 1.29 | 2,360 |
| San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad CA | $46,440 | — | 0.94 | 13,260 |
| San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles CA | $46,410 | — | 1.14 | 1,270 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA | $46,330 | — | 1.43 | 22,500 |
| Pueblo CO | $46,280 | — | 0.95 | 530 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $46,240 | — | 0.93 | 53,010 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandria LA | $20,730 | — | 0.88 | 480 |
| Hammond LA | $20,930 | — | 1.16 | 510 |
| Tuscaloosa AL | $21,690 | — | 0.55 | 540 |
| San Angelo TX | $21,820 | — | 0.79 | 360 |
| Gadsden AL | $21,940 | — | 0.62 | 190 |
| Lafayette LA | $22,000 | — | 0.69 | 1,130 |
| Anniston-Oxford AL | $22,230 | — | 0.66 | 260 |
| Lawrence KS | $22,360 | — | 1.26 | 590 |
| Arecibo PR | $22,450 | — | 2.05 | 650 |
| Northeast Alabama nonmetropolitan area | $22,470 | — | 0.6 | 840 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watertown-Fort Drum NY | $34,190 | — | 2.76 | 990 |
| Central East New York nonmetropolitan area | $35,790 | — | 2.75 | 4,000 |
| Merced CA | $44,680 | — | 2.69 | 1,950 |
| Yuba City CA | $45,880 | — | 2.62 | 1,220 |
| Northeast Minnesota nonmetropolitan area | $38,550 | — | 2.56 | 1,030 |
| Southwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area | $37,460 | — | 2.46 | 2,650 |
| Southwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area | $30,470 | — | 2.45 | 1,640 |
| Minot ND | $38,040 | — | 2.43 | 740 |
| Hanford-Corcoran CA | $45,780 | — | 2.42 | 1,080 |
| Yakima WA | $47,380 | — | 2.42 | 2,150 |
| Capital/Northern New York nonmetropolitan area | $36,230 | — | 2.32 | 2,960 |
| Northwest Iowa nonmetropolitan area | $30,380 | — | 2.31 | 3,070 |
| Metropolitan area | Median | Hourly | LQ | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City NY-NJ | $38,890 | — | 1.46 | 126,920 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim CA | $46,240 | — | 0.93 | 53,010 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin IL-IN | $37,840 | — | 1.13 | 46,770 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington PA-NJ-DE-MD | $36,080 | — | 1.02 | 26,990 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton MA-NH | $40,930 | — | 1.07 | 26,350 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington TX | $31,480 | — | 0.68 | 25,270 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria DC-VA-MD-WV | $46,200 | — | 0.87 | 25,050 |
| Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands TX | $29,300 | — | 0.8 | 23,930 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington MN-WI | $45,310 | — | 1.31 | 23,370 |
| Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario CA | $46,330 | — | 1.43 | 22,500 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue WA | $53,950 | — | 1.1 | 21,040 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont CA | $49,360 | — | 0.86 | 18,710 |
Figures come from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programme, May 2025 release, SOC code 25-9045. OEWS surveys employers, so it reports what is actually paid rather than what job advertisements claim, and it excludes the self-employed. Estimates cover 526 of 528 metropolitan areas — near-complete coverage, which means the ranges above are reliable rather than drawn from a handful of markets. Read the methodology.