Kansas·Educational Instruction and Library Occupations·SOC 25-2021

Best Elementary School Teacher programs in Kansas, ranked by enrollment

Teach academic and social skills to students at the elementary school.

32 schools in Kansas run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,157 people a year. The job pays a median of $56,450 in Kansas across about 14,350 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledTeacherClassroom TeacherElementary TeacherElementary School TeacherEducatorArt TeacherGym TeacherArt Educator
Graduates / yr
1,157
in Kansas
Median pay · Kansas
$56,450
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
14,350
people employed
Schools
32
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
43%
across those schools
Median net price
$23,560
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Kansas that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

6 programs in Kansas that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Kansas (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Kansas page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 13.1202In Kansas
1,126
97.3%
32$41,127$25,500
2
CIP 13.1401In Kansas
13
1.1%
1$36,305$26,250
3
CIP 13.1210In Kansas
10
0.9%
5$41,127$25,500
4
CIP 13.1206In Kansas
5
0.4%
1$41,127$25,500
5
CIP 13.1213In Kansas
2
0.2%
1$41,127$25,500
6
CIP 13.1499In Kansas
1
0.1%
1$36,305$26,250

Top 25 schools in Kansas

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 17 of the 32 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
245Elementary Education and Teaching$44,32071%82%
2Wichita State University
Wichita, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
226Elementary Education and Teaching$43,76451%94%
3Fort Hays State University
Hays, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
124Elementary Education and Teaching$42,11248%90%
4Emporia State University
Emporia, KS Public · 2 feeder programs
118Elementary Education and Teaching$43,93356%98%
5Pittsburg State University
Pittsburg, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
112Elementary Education and Teaching$41,57257%89%
6University of Kansas
Lawrence, KS Public · 3 feeder programs
76Elementary Education and Teaching$45,40569%93%
7Butler Community College
El Dorado, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
36Elementary Education and Teaching32%
8Newman University
Wichita, KS Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
24Elementary Education and Teaching$43,29653%$18,52074%
9Benedictine College
Atchison, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
21Elementary Education and Teaching$42,83462%$24,82698%
10Ottawa University - Kansas City
Overland Park, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
20Elementary Education and Teaching$42,056
11MidAmerica Nazarene University
Olathe, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
18Elementary Education and Teaching$40,67654%$28,84579%
12Washburn University
Topeka, KS Public · 3 feeder programs
17Elementary Education and Teaching$46,51953%
13Ottawa University - Ottawa
Ottawa, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Elementary Education and Teaching$42,05628%$26,93583%
14Southwestern College
Winfield, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Elementary Education and Teaching$44,51136%$26,86876%
15Baker University
Baldwin City, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Elementary Education and Teaching58%$21,40494%
16Friends University
Wichita, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
9Elementary Education and Teaching$46,31343%$24,08455%
17Haskell Indian Nations University
Lawrence, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
8Elementary Education and Teaching18%90%
18Bethel College - North Newton
North Newton, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Elementary Education and Teaching41%$23,56094%
19Ottawa University - Online
Overland Park, KS Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
7Elementary Education and Teaching$42,05643%
20Bethany College
Lindsborg, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Elementary Education and Teaching36%$28,91656%
21Cowley County Community College
Arkansas City, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
6Elementary Education and Teaching45%
22Dodge City Community College
Dodge City, KS Public · 1 feeder programs
6Elementary Education and Teaching35%
23McPherson College
McPherson, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Elementary Education and Teaching34%$24,59577%
24Sterling College
Sterling, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Elementary Education and Teaching41%$22,40648%
25University of Saint Mary
Leavenworth, KS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
6Elementary Education and Teaching$41,66948%$22,73087%

All 32 schools in Kansas

Every school in Kansas with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Kansas that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Kansas State UniversityManhattanPublic2452
Wichita State UniversityWichitaPublic2262
Fort Hays State UniversityHaysPublic1241
Emporia State UniversityEmporiaPublic1182
Pittsburg State UniversityPittsburgPublic1121
University of KansasLawrencePublic763
Butler Community CollegeEl DoradoPublic361
Newman UniversityWichitaPrivate not-for-profit242
Benedictine CollegeAtchisonPrivate not-for-profit211
Ottawa University - Kansas CityOverland ParkPrivate not-for-profit201
MidAmerica Nazarene UniversityOlathePrivate not-for-profit181
Washburn UniversityTopekaPublic173
Ottawa University - OttawaOttawaPrivate not-for-profit101
Southwestern CollegeWinfieldPrivate not-for-profit101
Baker UniversityBaldwin CityPrivate not-for-profit91

What elementary school teachers earn in Kansas

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Kansas
$56,450
Mean annual
$56,730
Jobs in state
14,350
What the range looks like
10th pct$47,700Median$56,45090th pct$71,730
Versus the national median
-11.8%

U.S. median $63,970. Kansas pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.12×

1.00× means the state has its expected share of these jobs.

Metro areas in Kansas

Wichita, KS
$58,640median
2,940 jobs
Topeka, KS
$58,950median
1,170 jobs
Lawrence, KS
$50,310median
450 jobs
Manhattan, KS
$49,520median
570 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-2.0%
Decline
Openings per year
91,000
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-27,900
1,422,700 → 1,394,800
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Elementary School Teachers page.

How to become a Elementary School Teacher

Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree

Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Top skills

Learning StrategiesSpeakingMonitoringActive ListeningCritical ThinkingWriting

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Kansas

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 15 majors mapped to Elementary School Teachers13 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 13.0201Bilingual and Multilingual Education
  • 13.1202Elementary Education and Teaching
  • 13.1206Teacher Education, Multiple Levels
  • 13.1207Montessori Teacher Education
  • 13.1208Waldorf/Steiner Teacher Education(no graduates reported)
  • 13.1210Early Childhood Education and Teaching
  • 13.1211Online Educator/Online Teaching
  • 13.1212International Teaching and Learning
  • 13.1213Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Methods
  • 13.1338Environmental Education
  • 13.1339Communication Arts and Literature Teacher Education
  • 13.1401Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor
  • 13.1402Teaching French as a Second or Foreign Language(no graduates reported)
  • 13.1499Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language, Other
  • 45.0199Social Sciences, Other

Common questions

Answers for people weighing elementary school teachers programs in Kansas.

What degree do you need to become an Elementary School Teacher?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Elementary Education and Teaching, which awarded 1,126 degrees in Kansas in 2024-25, 97.3% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming an Elementary School Teacher?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Teacher Education and Professional Development, Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language. Together they graduate about 1,157 people a year in Kansas.

How much do elementary school teachers earn in Kansas?+

The median is $56,450 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 11.8% below the U.S. median of $63,970. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for elementary school teachers growing?+

BLS projects a -2.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 91,000 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Kansas?+

32 institutions in Kansas reported graduates from at least one of the 6 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do elementary school teachers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Teacher, Classroom Teacher, Elementary Teacher, Elementary School Teacher among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-2021.

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

All Clema data sources and release dates →

Explore every U.S. college in one conversation

Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card