Head Start Teacher Salary & Pay Data
BLS OEWS May 2025 · Broader BLS occupation: SOC 25-2011 Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
BLS publishes no wage for Head Start as a program, so this is not Head Start pay; it is all preschool teachers (SOC 25-2011) in every setting.
Annual figures are BLS hourly wages × 2,080 hours. OEWS covers wage-and-salary workers only, so it leaves out the self-employed, workers in private households, overtime pay and most bonuses.
What the BLS figure covers
These are BLS figures for every worker in SOC 25-2011 Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education.
BLS publishes no separate series or percentiles for head start teachers, so this page does not show a percentile table for the role.
Head Start pay rules
BLS publishes no wage for Head Start or Early Head Start as a program, so no figure on this page is Head Start pay.
The 2024 Head Start Program Performance Standards require programs, by August 1, 2031, to pay each Head Start teacher an annual salary at least comparable to public-school preschool teachers in the local school district, adjusted for qualifications, experience and hours.
On May 12, 2026, the Administration for Children and Families proposed removing all Head Start wage and benefit requirements, so that pay comparability is not guaranteed.