Educational Instruction and Library: S-Corp Reasonable Salary Benchmarks
64 occupations, with medians from $36,780 to $128,500. 55 of them clear $60,000, roughly the point at which an S-corp election starts repaying its own overhead.
Education roles are frequently part-year or part-time by nature. Reasonable compensation scales with hours actually worked, so the contract term is the fact to document rather than the annual figure.
| Occupation | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| Law Teachers, Postsecondary | $88,700 | $128,500 | $176,490 |
| Economics Teachers, Postsecondary | $86,840 | $123,920 | $168,770 |
| Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary | $81,570 | $109,270 | $150,860 |
| Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary | $75,690 | $107,310 | $210,370 |
| Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | $77,260 | $103,170 | $135,510 |
| Forestry and Conservation Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $77,440 | $101,420 | $126,930 |
| Physics Teachers, Postsecondary | $74,050 | $100,310 | $132,650 |
| Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary | $75,200 | $99,650 | $128,750 |
| Business Teachers, Postsecondary | $64,150 | $99,080 | $141,710 |
| Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | $66,410 | $98,700 | $126,850 |
| Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $73,260 | $98,070 | $129,130 |
| Geography Teachers, Postsecondary | $74,690 | $97,590 | $123,900 |
| Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $66,600 | $96,980 | $131,320 |
| Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary | $74,970 | $96,870 | $128,510 |
| Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $69,880 | $94,980 | $126,900 |
| Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary | $68,530 | $93,250 | $127,280 |
| Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $65,660 | $85,020 | $110,710 |
| Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $64,350 | $84,620 | $126,770 |
| Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary | $64,990 | $84,290 | $110,650 |
| History Teachers, Postsecondary | $63,920 | $83,820 | $112,090 |
| Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary | $63,400 | $80,340 | $105,920 |
| Library Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $64,080 | $80,340 | $100,910 |
| Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary | $62,600 | $80,260 | $104,770 |
| Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary | $63,510 | $80,250 | $101,090 |
| Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary | $61,690 | $79,940 | $105,000 |
| Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | $62,510 | $79,350 | $102,730 |
| English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary | $60,900 | $78,760 | $103,130 |
| Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary | $61,620 | $78,620 | $103,850 |
| Communications Teachers, Postsecondary | $61,250 | $78,580 | $102,450 |
| Postsecondary Teachers, All Other | $59,290 | $77,640 | $106,770 |
| Social Work Teachers, Postsecondary | $61,170 | $77,570 | $100,400 |
| Instructional Coordinators | $60,780 | $77,440 | $98,820 |
| Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary | $59,990 | $77,270 | $101,450 |
| Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary | $60,020 | $76,590 | $100,870 |
| Special Education Teachers, All Other | $60,930 | $76,580 | $99,690 |
| Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary | $57,410 | $75,870 | $99,320 |
| Education Teachers, Postsecondary | $53,770 | $75,350 | $97,590 |
| Special Education Teachers, Secondary School | $60,180 | $74,260 | $93,730 |
| Social Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, All Other | $55,910 | $72,990 | $102,990 |
| Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $59,980 | $72,040 | $92,570 |
| Librarians and Media Collections Specialists | $56,310 | $68,270 | $84,480 |
| Special Education Teachers, Middle School | $60,000 | $66,810 | $82,800 |
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School | $60,590 | $66,270 | $80,060 |
| Teachers and Instructors, All Other | $48,490 | $66,140 | $95,890 |
| Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School | $59,710 | $65,120 | $80,280 |
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Middle School | $58,690 | $65,030 | $79,990 |
| Special Education Teachers, Preschool | $52,210 | $64,830 | $91,660 |
| Archivists | $50,680 | $64,550 | $83,020 |
| Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education | $58,530 | $64,370 | $80,490 |
| Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education | $57,710 | $63,970 | $81,450 |
| Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary | $50,320 | $63,820 | $82,360 |
| Curators | $48,870 | $63,420 | $83,080 |
| Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education | $52,180 | $62,680 | $79,910 |
| Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors | $49,100 | $61,540 | $77,690 |
| Farm and Home Management Educators | $46,990 | $60,220 | $73,130 |
| Museum Technicians and Conservators (below the S-corp threshold) | $41,050 | $51,440 | $67,640 |
| Educational Instruction and Library Workers, All Other (below the S-corp threshold) | $36,050 | $50,890 | $73,920 |
| Self-Enrichment Teachers (below the S-corp threshold) | $36,380 | $46,800 | $63,210 |
| Library Technicians (below the S-corp threshold) | $35,740 | $44,580 | $52,430 |
| Tutors (below the S-corp threshold) | $35,000 | $43,350 | $54,860 |
| Teaching Assistants, Postsecondary (below the S-corp threshold) | $35,270 | $42,910 | $60,510 |
| Substitute Teachers, Short-Term (below the S-corp threshold) | $34,170 | $41,670 | $54,890 |
| Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education (below the S-corp threshold) | $34,530 | $38,140 | $47,550 |
| Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary (below the S-corp threshold) | $31,060 | $36,780 | $45,360 |
What is a reasonable salary for a education S-corp owner?
It depends on the specific occupation, which is why the table lists all 64 separately instead of giving one number for the group. 55 carry a median at or above $60,000, roughly where an S-corp election starts repaying its overhead. Medians here run $36,780 to $128,500.
National figures, and a percentile is evidence rather than an answer.Model your own state and profit, or see all occupation groups.