What BLS Data Shows About Teacher and Nurse Wages
BLS OES 2025 data covers both elementary school teachers and registered nurses as occupation groups with metro-level wage data. Registered nurses typically earn higher wages than K-12 teachers at most career stages — BLS data shows RN wages are competitive with and often exceed all-occupation metro medians in most markets. Teacher wages, by contrast, often fall below the all-occupation metro median in higher-cost markets. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics OES 2025.
The High-Cost Metro Challenge
In San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle — metros with the highest HUD FMR benchmarks — the teacher salary reality is particularly challenging. Public school teacher compensation is set through district pay scales and union contracts that often increase at slower rates than private market wages and housing costs. The result is that teacher compensation, which may seem adequate in national dollar terms, can produce high housing pressure in the markets where it is being earned. Source: HUD FY2026, BLS OES 2025.
Where Teacher and Nurse Salaries Go Further
In lower-cost metros with higher local wages relative to housing costs, teacher and nurse salaries often produce meaningfully better financial outcomes. Midwest metros like Columbus (HUD FY2026 2BR FMR: $1,430), Indianapolis ($1,473), and Kansas City ($1,358) have housing cost benchmarks far below coastal markets. A registered nurse earning $80,000 in Kansas City faces a fundamentally different financial environment than one earning $80,000 in San Francisco. Source: HUD FY2026, BLS OES 2025.
The Public Sector Pension Factor
Many teachers and some nurses in public healthcare systems have access to defined benefit pension plans — a form of deferred compensation that affects total career compensation significantly. In states with strong public pension systems, the true total compensation for a teacher includes the pension benefit accrual in addition to current wages. This is often not reflected in simple salary comparisons.
Nursing: Higher Wages, More Market Options
Registered nurses typically have more wage flexibility than teachers because nursing is more fully exposed to private labor market pricing. Travel nursing positions, specialty premiums, and private hospital employment all create wage opportunities that can push RN compensation significantly above the median in many markets. The tradeoff is less employment stability compared to public school teaching. Source: BLS OES 2025.
What the Data Suggests About City Selection
For teachers and nurses considering relocation, the housing cost differential between metros often matters more than it does for workers in occupations with higher wage ceilings. A teacher earning $65,000 has limited ability to negotiate significantly above that figure — but can choose a city where that $65,000 produces genuinely comfortable financial conditions. HUD FY2026 FMR data shows that $65,000 produces very different outcomes in St. Louis ($1,218 2BR FMR) versus Miami ($2,436 2BR FMR). Source: HUD FY2026 FMR Schedule.