Oregon·Educational Instruction and Library Occupations·SOC 25-2012

Best Kindergarten Teacher programs in Oregon, ranked by enrollment

Teach academic and social skills to kindergarten.

17 schools in Oregon run programs that feed this job, graduating 902 people a year. The job pays a median of $68,580 in Oregon across about 1,330 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledTeacherKinder TeacherClassroom TeacherBilingual Kindergarten TeacherEducatorInstructorArt TeacherMontessori Teacher
Graduates / yr
902
in Oregon
Median pay · Oregon
$68,580
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
1,330
people employed
Schools
17
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
45%
across those schools
Median net price
$26,564
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Oregon that lead to this job

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

5 programs in Oregon that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Oregon (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 Oregon page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 13.1206In Oregon
510
56.5%
7$41,127$25,500
2
CIP 13.1210In Oregon
188
20.8%
11$41,127$25,500
3
CIP 13.1401In Oregon
177
19.6%
5$36,305$26,250
4
CIP 13.0201In Oregon
20
2.2%
1$56,738$19,664
5
CIP 13.1209In Oregon
7
0.8%
1$41,127$25,500

Top 17 schools in Oregon

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 17 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1University of Oregon
Eugene, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
246Teacher Education, Multiple Levels72%88%
2George Fox University
Newberg, OR Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs
150Teacher Education, Multiple Levels$36,73372%$26,56494%
3Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
101Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor70%77%
4Southern Oregon University
Ashland, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
71Teacher Education, Multiple Levels$41,13643%89%
5Western Oregon University
Monmouth, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
62Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor47%98%
6Portland State University
Portland, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
53Early Childhood Education and Teaching53%91%
7Columbia Gorge Community College
The Dalles, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
41Early Childhood Education and Teaching29%
8Eastern Oregon University
La Grande, OR Public · 3 feeder programs
39Early Childhood Education and Teaching$44,55843%98%
9Portland Community College
Portland, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
25Early Childhood Education and Teaching18%
10Central Oregon Community College
Bend, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
24Early Childhood Education and Teaching25%
11Pacific University
Forest Grove, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
20Teacher Education, Multiple Levels67%$30,57190%
12Warner Pacific University Professional and Graduate Studies
Portland, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
20Teacher Education, Multiple Levels59%
13Blue Mountain Community College
Pendleton, OR Public · 2 feeder programs
17Early Childhood Education and Teaching30%
14Mt Hood Community College
Gresham, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
11Early Childhood Education and Teaching24%
15Corban University
Salem, OR Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
10Teacher Education, Multiple Levels61%$23,09694%
16Linn - Benton Community College
Albany, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
7Early Childhood Education and Teaching29%
17Southwestern Oregon Community College
Coos Bay, OR Public · 1 feeder programs
5Early Childhood Education and Teaching40%

All 17 schools in Oregon

Every school in Oregon 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 Oregon that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
University of OregonEugenePublic2461
George Fox UniversityNewbergPrivate not-for-profit1502
Oregon State UniversityCorvallisPublic1012
Southern Oregon UniversityAshlandPublic712
Western Oregon UniversityMonmouthPublic622
Portland State UniversityPortlandPublic532
Columbia Gorge Community CollegeThe DallesPublic411
Eastern Oregon UniversityLa GrandePublic393
Portland Community CollegePortlandPublic251
Central Oregon Community CollegeBendPublic241
Pacific UniversityForest GrovePrivate not-for-profit201
Warner Pacific University Professional and Graduate StudiesPortlandPrivate not-for-profit201
Blue Mountain Community CollegePendletonPublic172
Mt Hood Community CollegeGreshamPublic111
Corban UniversitySalemPrivate not-for-profit101

What kindergarten teachers earn in Oregon

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

Median annual in Oregon
$68,580
Mean annual
$72,090
Jobs in state
1,330
What the range looks like
10th pct$49,190Median$68,58090th pct$98,100
Versus the national median
+9.4%

U.S. median $62,680. Oregon pays above the national figure.

Job concentration
0.96×

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

Metro areas in Oregon

Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
$81,090median
900 jobs
Salem, OR
$74,480median
140 jobs
Medford, OR
$62,100median
80 jobs
Albany, OR
$68,710median
50 jobs
Bend, OR
$62,400median
50 jobs
Eugene-Springfield, OR
$58,690median
140 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
-1.6%
Decline
Openings per year
12,800
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
-1,900
117,200 → 115,200
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 Kindergarten Teachers page.

How to become a Kindergarten 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

MonitoringActive ListeningLearning StrategiesSpeakingReading ComprehensionWriting

The same job in other states

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

Related careers in Oregon

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 10 majors mapped to Kindergarten Teachers8 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

Common questions

Answers for people weighing kindergarten teachers programs in Oregon.

What degree do you need to become a Kindergarten Teacher?+

Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Teacher Education, Multiple Levels, which awarded 510 degrees in Oregon in 2024-25, 56.5% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Kindergarten Teacher?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 5 programs to this occupation. The largest are Teacher Education and Professional Development, Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language, Bilingual. Together they graduate about 902 people a year in Oregon.

How much do kindergarten teachers earn in Oregon?+

The median is $68,580 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 9.4% above the U.S. median of $62,680. 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 kindergarten teachers growing?+

BLS projects a -1.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 12,800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

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

17 institutions in Oregon reported graduates from at least one of the 5 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 kindergarten teachers work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Teacher, Kinder Teacher, Classroom Teacher, Bilingual Kindergarten Teacher among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 25-2012.

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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