Tutor Hourly Pay, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 4,607 US job postings by 1,329 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for tutors: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 4,607 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for tutors in US job postings is $21.88 an hour (1,320 postings from 422 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $17.00 to $30.00 an hour.
- The skills that most set tutor postings apart are mathnasium methodtm, tutoring, digital educational materials and processes.
- Postings that state a minimum ask for a median of 2 years of experience.
Tutor job postings in the US, October 2026
- $21.88/hr
- Median advertised pay (1,320 postings)
- $17.00–$30.00
- Middle 50% of postings
- 4,607
- US job postings from 1,329 employers
- 2 years
- Median experience asked
How much does a tutor make an hour?
The median advertised pay is $21.88 an hour, from 1,320 US job postings by 422 employers that state pay. That is about $45,000 a year at 2,080 hours.
Advertised pay in 1,320 US tutor job postings: median $45,000 a year ($21.88 an hour), middle half $35,000 to $62,000.
- Median: $45,000 ($21.88/hr)
- 25th percentile: $35,000
- 75th percentile: $62,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 0.2% |
| $20K–$30K | 8.6% |
| $30K–$40K | 29.1% |
| $40K–$50K | 18.4% |
| $50K–$60K | 12.2% |
| $60K–$70K | 10.4% |
| $70K–$80K | 8.4% |
| $80K–$90K | 4.6% |
| $90K–$100K | 2.8% |
| $100K–$110K | 1.7% |
| $110K–$120K | 0.7% |
| $130K–$140K | 0.3% |
| $140K–$150K | 1.3% |
| $150K–$160K | 0.5% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Postings that state an hourly rate | $21.88 | $17.00–$30.00 | 1,043 |
| All pay postings, annualised | $45,000 | $35K–$62K | 1,320 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Tutors (25-3041) at $43,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a tutor?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying tutor jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math Instructor / Tutor | $21.00/hr | 1,200 | 397 |
Tutor pay by state
Single-location US postings; states with at least 100 postings that state pay. States with pay-transparency laws (such as California, Colorado, New York and Washington) are over-represented among postings that state pay.
| State | Median pay | Middle 50% | Postings with pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $22.00/hr | $18.25–$30.00 | 225 | 16.8% |
Skills employers ask for in tutor job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 32% |
| Interpersonal skills | 23% |
| Organizational skills | 11% |
| Patience | 7% |
| Professionalism | 6% |
| Problem-solving | 6% |
| Motivated | 6% |
| Time management | 6% |
| Communicate effectively | 5% |
| Dependable | 5% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set tutors apart
- Patience7.1× as often as in all postings · 7%
- Motivated4.1× as often as in all postings · 6%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a tutor job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a tutor do?
Employers post these jobs as Math Instructor / Tutor, Math Tutor, Tutors, AVID Tutor, Peer Tutor and other titles. The largest specializations are Math Instructor / Tutor (88%).
The closest official occupation is Tutors (25-3041.00). Its most important tasks:
- Provide feedback to students, using positive reinforcement techniques to encourage, motivate, or build confidence in students.
- Review class material with students by discussing text, working solutions to problems, or reviewing worksheets or other assignments.
- Assess students' progress throughout tutoring sessions.
- Teach students study skills, note-taking skills, and test-taking strategies.
- Provide private instruction to individual or small groups of students to improve academic performance, improve occupational skills, or prepare for academic or occupational tests.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
How much experience do you need to be a tutor?
Among 368 postings that state a minimum, the median is 2 years. Under 1% say 0 years and 37% ask for 1 year or less.
Minimum experience asked in 368 US tutor job postings: median 2 years, and 37% ask for 1 year or less.
The figures as a table
| Minimum experience asked | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| 0 yr | 2% |
| 1 yr | 35% |
| 2 yrs | 46% |
| 3-4 yrs | 15% |
| 5-7 yrs | 3% |
| 8-9 yrs | 0% |
| 10+ yrs | 0% |
Postings that state a minimum (required or preferred); at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
We do not show a degree figure: in our checks, degree requirements in posting text were found too rarely to publish one. Why.
Part-time 90%, Full-time 10% of the 724 postings that state working hours.
Other names for a tutor: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Tutor | 525 (39.5%) |
| Math Instructor / Tutor | 229 (17.2%) |
| Math Tutor | 130 (9.8%) |
| Tutors | 86 (6.5%) |
| AVID Tutor | 82 (6.2%) |
| Peer Tutor | 44 (3.3%) |
| Academic Tutor | 43 (3.2%) |
| Reading Tutor | 38 (2.9%) |
| Lead Math Instructor / Tutor | 30 (2.3%) |
| After School Tutor | 27 (2.0%) |
| Math Instructor | 27 (2.0%) |
| Title I Tutor | 24 (1.8%) |
| Literacy Tutor | 24 (1.8%) |
| Part-Time Tutor | 24 (1.8%) |
| Science Tutor | 22 (1.7%) |
| Professional Tutor | 21 (1.6%) |
| Student Tutor | 19 (1.4%) |
| Certified Tutor | 18 (1.4%) |
| Math And Reading Tutor | 17 (1.3%) |
| Title 1 Tutor | 15 (1.1%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Tutor compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tutor | $21.88/hr | 2 years | 4,607 | – |
| Teacher | $23.00/hr | 2 years | 44,040 | 13 |
| Childcare Worker | $17.50/hr | 1 year | 11,091 | 15 |
| Sports Coach | $20.00/hr | 2 years | 26,885 | 15 |
| Paraprofessional | $18.50/hr | 2 years | 24,141 | 12 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher | 13 | $23.00/hr |
| Childcare Worker | 15 | $17.50/hr |
| Sports Coach | 15 | $20.00/hr |
| Paraprofessional | 12 | $18.50/hr |
| Academic Advisor | 11 | – |
| Recreation Coordinator | 14 | $18.75/hr |
Applying for tutor jobs?
- Tutor resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find tutor jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
What are other names for a tutor?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 20 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.