Best Preschool Teacher programs in Oklahoma, ranked by enrollment
Instruct preschool-aged students, following curricula or lesson plans, in activities designed to promote social, physical, and intellectual.
37 schools in Oklahoma run programs that feed this job, graduating 901 people a year. The job pays a median of $31,790 in Oklahoma across about 7,010 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Oklahoma that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
6 programs in Oklahoma that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Oklahoma (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 Oklahoma page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 19.0706In Oklahoma → | 428 | 47.5% | 14 | $31,642 | $23,092 |
| 2 | Early Childhood Education and Teachingmain feeder CIP 13.1210In Oklahoma → | 326 | 36.2% | 22 | $41,127 | $25,500 |
| 3 | CIP 19.0708In Oklahoma → | 67 | 7.4% | 4 | $31,642 | $23,092 |
| 4 | CIP 13.1209In Oklahoma → | 37 | 4.1% | 2 | $41,127 | $25,500 |
| 5 | Teacher Education, Multiple Levelsmain feeder CIP 13.1206In Oklahoma → | 28 | 3.1% | 3 | $41,127 | $25,500 |
| 6 | CIP 13.1401In Oklahoma → | 15 | 1.7% | 5 | $36,305 | $26,250 |
Top 25 schools in Oklahoma
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 13 of the 37 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tulsa Community College Tulsa, OK Public · 2 feeder programs | 191 | Child Development | $33,103 | 28% | — | — |
| 2 | Carl Albert State College Poteau, OK Public · 2 feeder programs | 58 | Child Development | $21,625 | 43% | — | — |
| 3 | Northeastern State University Tahlequah, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 57 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $42,150 | 35% | — | 100% |
| 4 | Redlands Community College El Reno, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Child Development | — | 35% | — | — |
| 5 | Rose State College Midwest City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 48 | Child Development | — | 20% | — | — |
| 6 | Seminole State College Seminole, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 44 | Child Development | — | 40% | — | — |
| 7 | Oklahoma City Community College Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 37 | Child Development | — | 27% | — | — |
| 8 | Canadian Valley Technology Center El Reno, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 71% | — | — |
| 9 | Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 32 | Child Care and Support Services Management | $32,967 | 15% | — | — |
| 10 | University of Oklahoma - Norman Campus Norman, OK Public · 2 feeder programs | 31 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $44,049 | 75% | — | 77% |
| 11 | University of Central Oklahoma Edmond, OK Public · 2 feeder programs | 30 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $45,974 | 37% | — | 78% |
| 12 | Oklahoma State University - Main Campus Stillwater, OK Public · 4 feeder programs | 29 | Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching | $43,892 | 68% | — | 75% |
| 13 | Western Oklahoma State College Altus, OK Public · 2 feeder programs | 27 | Child Development | — | 31% | — | — |
| 14 | Northern Oklahoma College Tonkawa, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Child Development | — | 48% | — | — |
| 15 | Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Miami, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 18 | Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching | — | 26% | — | — |
| 16 | Cameron University Lawton, OK Public · 2 feeder programs | 16 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $41,453 | 31% | — | — |
| 17 | Connors State College Warner, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Child Development | — | 36% | — | — |
| 18 | Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology Okmulgee, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Teacher Education, Multiple Levels | — | 42% | — | — |
| 19 | Southern Nazarene University Bethany, OK Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 14 | Teacher Education, Multiple Levels | $45,032 | 51% | $19,619 | — |
| 20 | Francis Tuttle Technology Center Oklahoma City, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 52% | — | — |
| 21 | Gordon Cooper Technology Center Shawnee, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | — | 90% | — | — |
| 22 | Community Care College Tulsa, OK Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Early Childhood Education and Teaching | $14,847 | 67% | $25,909 | — |
| 23 | Murray State College Tishomingo, OK Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Child Development | — | 27% | — | — |
| 24 | Oklahoma Christian University Edmond, OK Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Child Development | — | 56% | $21,964 | 97% |
| 25 | Pioneer Technology Center Ponca City, OK Public · 2 feeder programs | 11 | Child Care and Support Services Management | — | 73% | — | — |
All 37 schools in Oklahoma
Every school in Oklahoma 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.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulsa Community College | Tulsa | Public | 191 | 2 |
| Carl Albert State College | Poteau | Public | 58 | 2 |
| Northeastern State University | Tahlequah | Public | 57 | 1 |
| Redlands Community College | El Reno | Public | 50 | 1 |
| Rose State College | Midwest City | Public | 48 | 1 |
| Seminole State College | Seminole | Public | 44 | 1 |
| Oklahoma City Community College | Oklahoma City | Public | 37 | 1 |
| Canadian Valley Technology Center | El Reno | Public | 32 | 1 |
| Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City | Oklahoma City | Public | 32 | 1 |
| University of Oklahoma - Norman Campus | Norman | Public | 31 | 2 |
| University of Central Oklahoma | Edmond | Public | 30 | 2 |
| Oklahoma State University - Main Campus | Stillwater | Public | 29 | 4 |
| Western Oklahoma State College | Altus | Public | 27 | 2 |
| Northern Oklahoma College | Tonkawa | Public | 23 | 1 |
| Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College | Miami | Public | 18 | 1 |
What preschool teachers earn in Oklahoma
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $38,140. Oklahoma pays below the national figure.
Concentrated here: Oklahoma employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in Oklahoma
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
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 Preschool Teachers page.
How to become a Preschool Teacher
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Oklahoma
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 12 majors mapped to Preschool Teachers10 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 13.0201Bilingual and Multilingual Education
- 13.1206Teacher Education, Multiple Levels
- 13.1207Montessori Teacher Education
- 13.1208Waldorf/Steiner Teacher Education(no graduates reported)
- 13.1209Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching
- 13.1210Early Childhood Education and Teaching
- 13.1212International Teaching and Learning
- 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
- 19.0706Child Development
- 19.0708Child Care and Support Services Management
Common questions
Answers for people weighing preschool teachers programs in Oklahoma.
What degree do you need to become a Preschool Teacher?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Child Development, which awarded 428 degrees in Oklahoma in 2024-25, 47.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Preschool Teacher?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 6 programs to this occupation. The largest are Human Development, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language. Together they graduate about 901 people a year in Oklahoma.
How much do preschool teachers earn in Oklahoma?+
The median is $31,790 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 16.6% below the U.S. median of $38,140. 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 preschool teachers growing?+
BLS projects a +4.1% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 65,500 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Oklahoma?+
37 institutions in Oklahoma 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 preschool teachers work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Teacher, Toddler Teacher, Montessori Preschool Teacher, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher (Pre-K Teacher) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-2011.
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 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected 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 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, 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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