Preschool Teacher Statistics 2026: Job Market, Pay, Demand & Workforce
Live figures from 1,394 open preschool teacher listings on Childcare Hires, next to federal employment and wage data.
Every number names its source and date, and the listing figures refresh every six hours.
Key Preschool Teacher Statistics (2026)
- As of October 13, 2026, Childcare Hires listed 1,394 open preschool teacher positions from 507 employers in 46 states and the District of Columbia.
- 1,223 of the 1,394 preschool teacher listings live on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026 (87.7%) were first posted in the previous 30 days.
- Employers hiring preschool teachers on Childcare Hires advertise a median of $18.50 an hour (377 employers, 1,072 listings stating hourly pay, October 13, 2026); this is advertised pay, not earnings.
- 79.9% of preschool teacher listings on Childcare Hires carried a readable hourly or annual pay figure on October 13, 2026.
- At least 8.4% of preschool teacher listings on Childcare Hires were part-time on October 13, 2026 (listings that name no schedule count as full-time, so the true share may be higher).
- The five largest employers posted 47.1% of preschool teacher listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026, led by The Learning Experience with 294.
- Texas had the most preschool teacher listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026: 166, or 11.9% of the national total.
- The median annual wage for preschool teachers, except special education (SOC 25-2011) was $38,140 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).
- Child care services employed 347,720 preschool teachers in May 2025, the industry's largest occupation at 34.6% of its wage-and-salary jobs, with a median annual wage of $36,850 (BLS OEWS, NAICS 6244).
Preschool Teacher Job Market Statistics
Childcare Hires had 1,394 open preschool teacher listings from 507 employers on October 13, 2026.
1,032 were first posted in the previous 14 days and 1,223 in the previous 30 days.
At least 8.4% of preschool teacher listings were part-time on October 13, 2026.
Listings that name no schedule are counted as full-time, so the real part-time share is likely higher.
To browse the openings themselves, see all preschool teacher listings.
Preschool Teacher Pay Statistics
Employers hiring preschool teachers on Childcare Hires advertise a median of $18.50 an hour across 377 employers on October 13, 2026; this is advertised pay, not earnings.
42 preschool teacher listings from 31 employers stated annual pay instead, with an employer median of $54,500 a year.
The median annual wage for preschool teachers, except special education (SOC 25-2011) was $38,140 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).
For more on what preschool teachers earn, see the preschool teacher salary guide.
Preschool Teacher Demand by State
States with at least 25 open preschool teacher listings from 10 or more employers on October 13, 2026.
Texas had the most open preschool teacher listings on October 13, 2026, with 166 (11.9% of the national total).
California followed with 109 (7.8%).
To browse the openings in one state, start with preschool teacher openings in Texas.
| State | Open listings | Share of U.S. | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 166 | 11.9% | 61 |
| California | 109 | 7.8% | 72 |
| Massachusetts | 82 | 5.9% | 37 |
| Florida | 77 | 5.5% | 50 |
| New Jersey | 69 | 4.9% | 26 |
| Georgia | 67 | 4.8% | 30 |
| New York | 66 | 4.7% | 29 |
| Virginia | 65 | 4.7% | 18 |
| Maryland | 55 | 3.9% | 20 |
| Pennsylvania | 55 | 3.9% | 23 |
| North Carolina | 51 | 3.7% | 23 |
| Ohio | 45 | 3.2% | 20 |
| Colorado | 44 | 3.2% | 22 |
| Illinois | 40 | 2.9% | 16 |
| Minnesota | 40 | 2.9% | 18 |
| Missouri | 31 | 2.2% | 12 |
| Tennessee | 30 | 2.2% | 17 |
| Oregon | 29 | 2.1% | 13 |
| Indiana | 27 | 1.9% | 17 |
| Washington | 27 | 1.9% | 19 |
| Arizona | 26 | 1.9% | 15 |
| Michigan | 26 | 1.9% | 11 |
Childcare Hires listings, October 13, 2026. Listing counts reflect where employers post, not total employment.
Preschool Teacher Employer Mix
507 employers had open preschool teacher listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026, and the five largest posted 47.1% of them.
418 employers (82.4%) had exactly one open preschool teacher listing.
The largest single employer, The Learning Experience, posted 21.1% of all preschool teacher listings, so this sample leans toward large childcare chains.
Preschool Teacher Workforce
Child care services employed 347,720 preschool teachers in May 2025, the industry's largest occupation at 34.6% of its wage-and-salary jobs, with a median annual wage of $36,850 (BLS OEWS, NAICS 6244).
The child care services industry employed 1,004,990 wage-and-salary workers in May 2025, with a median annual wage of $36,580 across all its occupations (BLS OEWS, NAICS 6244).
BLS projects preschool teacher employment to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations, with about 66,700 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35).
For more on projected demand and openings, see the childcare and preschool teacher job outlook.
For why centers struggle to fill these roles, see our childcare staffing shortage analysis.
For how to enter the field, see the preschool teacher career guide.
Preschool Teacher Statistics FAQ
How many preschool teacher openings are there right now?
Childcare Hires listed 1,394 open preschool teacher positions from 507 employers in 46 states and the District of Columbia on October 13, 2026. 1,032 of them were first posted in the previous 14 days. The count is refreshed every six hours from live listings.
What do preschool teacher job listings pay?
Employers hiring preschool teachers on Childcare Hires advertise a median of $18.50 an hour (377 employers, 1,072 listings, October 13, 2026). The middle half of listings offer $17.00 to $20.50. That is advertised pay, not earnings. The median annual wage for preschool teachers, except special education (SOC 25-2011) was $38,140 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).
Which state has the most preschool teacher listings?
Texas had the most open preschool teacher listings on Childcare Hires on October 13, 2026, with 166 (11.9% of the national total). California followed with 109. Listing counts reflect where employers post, not total employment.
Methodology and Sources
Listing figures are computed from every active, paid preschool teacher listing on Childcare Hires at the time shown, and refreshed every six hours.
Listings on a job board are not a random sample of all preschool teacher jobs, so read them as a picture of current hiring, not of total employment.
Advertised pay is the midpoint of the range an employer posts, or its single figure, and hourly and annual postings are never converted into each other.
The headline is the employer median: each employer’s own median, then the median across employers, so a chain posting hundreds of openings counts once.
A pay figure needs at least 30 listings from 10 employers and is withheld when one employer posted more than 50% of them.
Federal figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are quoted as published, with the year in each sentence.
- Childcare Hires job listings: active, paid listings for preschool teachers, queried live and refreshed every six hours.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- BLS OEWS May 2025, Child Care Services (NAICS 6244)
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Preschool Teachers (2025–35 projections)