Mississippi·Educational Instruction and Library Occupations·SOC 25-2022

Best Middle School Teacher programs in Mississippi, ranked by enrollment

Teach one or more subjects to students at the middle, intermediate, or junior high school.

16 schools in Mississippi run programs that feed this job, graduating 696 people a year. The job pays a median of $50,790 in Mississippi across about 6,260 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledTeacherScience TeacherLanguage Arts Teacher (LA Teacher)Math Teacher (Mathematics Teacher)CoachEducatorArt TeacherArt Educator
Graduates / yr
696
in Mississippi
Median pay · Mississippi
$50,790
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
6,260
people employed
Schools
16
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
52%
across those schools
Median net price
$19,069
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Mississippi that lead to this job

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

19 programs in Mississippi that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Mississippi (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 Mississippi page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1267
38.4%
12$43,033$26,044
2111
15.9%
3$41,127$25,500
3100
14.4%
7$43,033$26,044
452
7.5%
3$43,033$26,044
536
5.2%
6$43,033$26,044
619
2.7%
4$43,033$26,044
718
2.6%
1$43,033$26,044
817
2.4%
1$41,127$25,500
916
2.3%
2$36,305$26,250
1013
1.9%
5$43,033$26,044
1111
1.6%
1$43,033$26,044
1210
1.4%
2$43,033$26,044
138
1.1%
2$43,033$26,044
147
1.0%
2$43,033$26,044
156
0.9%
1$43,033$26,044
162
0.3%
1$41,127$25,500
171
0.1%
1$43,033$26,044
181
0.1%
1$43,033$26,044
191
0.1%
1$43,033$26,044

Top 16 schools in Mississippi

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 7 of the 16 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Delta State University
Cleveland, MS Public · 5 feeder programs
139Physical Education Teaching and Coaching$34,17748%100%
2William Carey University
Hattiesburg, MS Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs
117Physical Education Teaching and Coaching$52,79060%$17,20560%
3Jackson State University
Jackson, MS Public · 7 feeder programs
96Teacher Education, Multiple Levels$40,44851%93%
4University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, MS Public · 5 feeder programs
65Music Teacher Education49%99%
5Mississippi State University
Mississippi State, MS Public · 3 feeder programs
52Music Teacher Education$41,65867%78%
6University of Mississippi
University, MS Public · 6 feeder programs
48English/Language Arts Teacher Education$39,98572%97%
7Belhaven University
Jackson, MS Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
46Reading Teacher Education49%$22,47650%
8Copiah - Lincoln Community College
Wesson, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
44Physical Education Teaching and Coaching50%
9Itawamba Community College
Fulton, MS Public · 5 feeder programs
29Physical Education Teaching and Coaching50%
10Blue Mountain Christian University
Blue Mountain, MS Private not-for-profit · 7 feeder programs
23Reading Teacher Education$37,76055%$18,11789%
11Mississippi Christian University
Clinton, MS Private not-for-profit · 5 feeder programs
19Art Teacher Education$39,55859%$21,09629%
12East Mississippi Community College
Scooba, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
10Physical Education Teaching and Coaching48%
13Coahoma Community College
Clarksdale, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
4Physical Education Teaching and Coaching41%
14Alcorn State University
Alcorn State, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
2Teacher Education, Multiple Levels57%45%
15Northwest Mississippi Community College
Senatobia, MS Public · 1 feeder programs
1Physical Education Teaching and Coaching45%
16Tougaloo College
Tougaloo, MS Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
1History Teacher Education33%$19,06960%

All 16 schools in Mississippi

Every school in Mississippi 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 Mississippi that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Delta State UniversityClevelandPublic1395
William Carey UniversityHattiesburgPrivate not-for-profit1175
Jackson State UniversityJacksonPublic967
University of Southern MississippiHattiesburgPublic655
Mississippi State UniversityMississippi StatePublic523
University of MississippiUniversityPublic486
Belhaven UniversityJacksonPrivate not-for-profit462
Copiah - Lincoln Community CollegeWessonPublic441
Itawamba Community CollegeFultonPublic295
Blue Mountain Christian UniversityBlue MountainPrivate not-for-profit237
Mississippi Christian UniversityClintonPrivate not-for-profit195
East Mississippi Community CollegeScoobaPublic101
Coahoma Community CollegeClarksdalePublic41
Alcorn State UniversityAlcorn StatePublic21
Northwest Mississippi Community CollegeSenatobiaPublic11

What middle school teachers earn in Mississippi

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

Median annual in Mississippi
$50,790
Mean annual
$52,930
Jobs in state
6,260
What the range looks like
10th pct$46,020Median$50,79090th pct$60,860
Versus the national median
-21.1%

U.S. median $64,370. Mississippi pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.35×

Concentrated here: Mississippi employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Mississippi

Gulfport-Biloxi, MS
$50,160median
740 jobs
Jackson, MS
$50,820median
1,310 jobs
Hattiesburg, MS
$50,290median
250 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-2.0%
Decline
Openings per year
40,500
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-12,400
633,700 → 621,300
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 Middle School Teachers page.

How to become a Middle 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 StrategiesSpeakingActive ListeningWritingMonitoringReading Comprehension

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Mississippi

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 25 majors mapped to Middle School Teachers24 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 13.0201Bilingual and Multilingual Education
  • 13.1203Junior High/Intermediate/Middle School Education and Teaching
  • 13.1206Teacher Education, Multiple Levels
  • 13.1207Montessori Teacher Education
  • 13.1208Waldorf/Steiner Teacher Education(no graduates reported)
  • 13.1211Online Educator/Online Teaching
  • 13.1212International Teaching and Learning
  • 13.1213Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Educational Methods
  • 13.1302Art Teacher Education
  • 13.1305English/Language Arts Teacher Education
  • 13.1306Foreign Language Teacher Education
  • 13.1307Health Teacher Education
  • 13.1308Family and Consumer Sciences/Home Economics Teacher Education
  • 13.1309Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education
  • 13.1311Mathematics Teacher Education
  • 13.1312Music Teacher Education
  • 13.1314Physical Education Teaching and Coaching
  • 13.1315Reading Teacher Education
  • 13.1316Science Teacher Education/General Science Teacher Education
  • 13.1317Social Science Teacher Education
  • 13.1318Social Studies Teacher Education
  • 13.1321Computer Teacher Education
  • 13.1322Biology Teacher Education
  • 13.1323Chemistry Teacher Education
  • 13.1324Drama and Dance Teacher Education

Common questions

Answers for people weighing middle school teachers programs in Mississippi.

What degree do you need to become a Middle 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 Physical Education Teaching and Coaching, which awarded 267 degrees in Mississippi in 2024-25, 38.4% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Middle School Teacher?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 19 programs to this occupation. The largest are Teacher Education and Professional Development, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language. Together they graduate about 696 people a year in Mississippi.

How much do middle school teachers earn in Mississippi?+

The median is $50,790 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 21.1% below the U.S. median of $64,370. 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 middle school teachers growing?+

BLS projects a -2.0% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 40,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

16 institutions in Mississippi reported graduates from at least one of the 19 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 middle school teachers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Teacher, Science Teacher, Language Arts Teacher (LA Teacher), Math Teacher (Mathematics Teacher) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-2022.

Middle School Teachers in other statesNew YorkUtahIndianaTexasGeorgiaPennsylvaniaOhioIllinois

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

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