The Average Salary of a Sign Language Instructor

Sign language instructors work as speech pathologists.

Sign language instructors are speech-language pathologists who have been trained to help people with speech, language and fluency disorders. These professionals, also known as speech therapists and speech and language specialists, usually have a master's degree and receive professional credentialing from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association as required by most states. The average salary of a sign language instructor was $69,880 as of May 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Average Salaries

The bureau reports a median annual salary of $66,920 for speech pathologists. These professionals earned a salary ranging from $42,970 for those in the 10th percentile to $103,630 for those in the 90th percentile. The middle 50 percent of these professionals earned approximately $53,230 to $84,250 per year as of 2010. The bureau anticipates strong demand for this professional occupation with a 19 percent increase in new positions forecast from 2008 to 2018. The 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has mandated that schools provide specialized instruction for children with disabilities including those with speech, language and fluency problems, contributing to an increased demand for new professionals.

Industry Demographics

Nearly half of the 112,530 speech-language instructors recorded by the bureau in 2010 worked for elementary and secondary schools, earning just below the mean annual wage, averaging $64,310 per year. Better pay opportunities were found in offices of health practictioners, with these professionals earning $75,810 per year on average. Hospitals also offered opportunities for sign language instructors, paying an average annual salary of $73,490. Nursing care facilities and home health care services paid $80,310 and $89,800, respectively. Top pay, but with just 40 positions filled were medical and diagnostic companies, which offered $121,880 per year on average.

State Comparisons

Top pay for speech-language pathologists was found in Alaska where these professionals earned average annual wages of $85,440. Maryland and New Jersey followed, paying $82,310 and $82,170, respectively. The fourth-highest state for earnings was California at $81,910 per year followed by Colorado where salaries average $80,120 per year. On the opposite side of the salary spectrum was South Dakota where sign language instructors could expect to earn $48,800 per year on average. Other states with wages well below the national mean included North Dakota at $50,400, Montana at $52,530 and West Virginia at $54,970.

Metropolitan Areas

The Cape-Coral-Fort Myers area of Florida led all metropolitan areas in pay in 2010, with speech-language pathologists earning an average salary of $98,290. The Laredo, Texas, area followed with average wages of $93,240. The third-highest wages were found in Salinas, California, where these professionals earned $90,940 per year on average. Other areas offering top pay included Springfield, Ohio, at $89,680 per year and Visalia-Porterfield, California, where wages averaged $88,170 per year.

References

• O-Net Online; Summary Report for: 29-1127.00 - Speech-Language Pathologists
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition; Speech-Language Pathologists
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; Occupational Employment Statistics; 29-1127 Speech-Language Pathologists
• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: Accreditation