This is how much your teacher earns – the big Swiss salary report 2024
Bild: shutterstock
The summer holidays are over in most cantons and teachers are in demand again. How well are they paid? The big overview of salaries by canton – from kindergarten to high school and vocational school.
There is still a shortage of teachers in Swiss schools. The umbrella association of teachers (LCH) is aware of the problems. Without substitute teachers, it is no longer possible. Increasing numbers of students and upcoming waves of retirements are just two of the problems. Last October, the LCH held a press conference. “It is only thanks to improvisation and the great commitment of school management and teams on site that we can ensure that classes always take place,” said Dagmar Rösler, president of the umbrella association, there.
The problem is likely to worsen. Action Plan for Educational Quality should provide countermeasures.
One possible lever to solve the problem is always: wages. Lucerne wants to combat the teacher shortage with millions of francs, Zug improved employment conditionsin Bern has more money and In the canton of Schwyz, teachers demanded more time, pay and staff.
But how high is the salary actually? What do teachers earn in the cantons – and how big are the differences really? At least salaries were increased almost everywhere this summer.
Since their compensation is structured in wage classes, teachers’ salaries can be compared more easily than in other industries – even if there are deviations (see also info box).
An overview of the situation by school level:
Wages in kindergarten
At kindergarten level, teachers in Geneva and Zurich earn the most by far. The approximately 100,000 francs is at least 15,000 francs more than anywhere else. However, kindergarten teachers who lead a class alone in the canton of Zurich often only have an employment rate of 88 percent. Employees in the canton of Graubünden earn the least, at 62,483 francs.
There was a noticeable wage increase compared to last year in Zug (+10,266 CHF), Nidwalden (+5,733 CHF) and Appenzell Innerrhoden (+4,408 CHF).
- Swiss average starting salary: 79,638 francs (+3,068 CHF compared to 2023)
- Swiss average maximum wage: 119’778 Franken
Annual salaries of kindergarten teachers
The map is colored according to the level of the starting wages. Earnings in the eleventh year of service and the maximum wages can be found in the respective canton box (in some cases there is no information about the eleventh year of service).
In most cantons, salaries have increased since 2012, as a look at starting salaries in 2012 shows. At the top of this ranking is the canton of Zurich. It now pays over 25,000 francs more annually. In St. Gallen, kindergarten teachers are also paid significantly better than in 2012. The big jump occurred in 2016 (+13,130 CHF) and 2017 (+6,961 CHF). At the time, the cantonal government decided to increase salaries in order to prevent a shortage of teachers and ensure school quality.
Change in annual wages in the first year since 2012:
Image: watson
Data and sources
The data for the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland come from the Wage data collection the three regional conferences of the German-speaking Swiss education ministers (NW EDK, EDK-Ost and BKZ). The evaluation is carried out annually. Since neither the Syndicat des enseignants romands (SER) nor the Conférence intercantonale de l’instruction publique de la Suisse Romande et du Tessin (CIIP) carry out the survey annually, the data for Ticino and the western Swiss cantons come directly from the corresponding cantonal education departments.
Although the cantons have precise classifications according to salary classes (education, level and years of service), the actual salary can vary. In the canton of Vaud, for example, experience in previous jobs is sometimes taken into account. The maximum salaries stated are partly theoretical in nature and cannot be achieved without additional positions and the highest qualifications.
In addition, in recent years several cantons have moved away from the salary system with fixed step increases. This limits the comparability of the data, as the authors of the study write. Further information is available here.
Wages at primary level
The canton of Geneva is also ahead at primary level. Here, primary school teachers receive almost 1,000 francs more than last year.
At the bottom of the list at primary level is Ticino, where the same wages are paid as in kindergarten.
The biggest jump in wages compared to 2023 was in Basel-Stadt: primary school teachers now earn 6,701 francs more. Glarus has also significantly increased salaries (+5,616 francs).
- Swiss average starting salary: 81,464 francs (+1,705 CHF compared to 2023)
- Swiss average maximum wage: 122’439 Franken
Annual salaries of primary school teachers
The map is colored according to the level of the starting wages. Earnings in the eleventh year of service and the maximum wages can be found in the respective canton box (in some cases there is no information about the eleventh year of service).
The canton of Jura experienced the highest increase in starting wages since 2012, at 12,551 francs. Only the canton of Ticino pays less than in 2012.
Change in annual wages in the first year since 2012:
Image: watson
More on the current teacher shortage:
Wages at secondary level
The third category – and for the third time, Geneva comes out on top: teachers there earn almost 110,000 francs in their first year. Geneva took back the top spot from Zurich last year because the French-speaking Swiss raised starting salaries by over 11,000 francs two years ago.
Obwalden is now at the bottom of the list because Nidwalden raised wages by 2,561 francs.
- Swiss average starting salary: 94,576 francs (–1,468 CHF compared to 2023)
- Swiss average maximum wage: 141’096 Franken
Annual salaries of secondary school teachers
The map is colored according to the level of the starting wages. Earnings in the eleventh year of service and the maximum wages can be found in the respective canton box (in some cases there is no information about the eleventh year of service).
While the canton of Jura has once again seen a massive wage increase compared to 2012, teachers in the canton of Neuchâtel now earn around 4,000 francs less than they did then. Nevertheless, the canton ranks fifth in the overall comparison.
The biggest winners compared to last year, in addition to Nidwalden, are the teachers in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden (+2501 CHF) and Basel-Landschaft (+2356 CHF).
Change in annual wages in the first year since 2012:
Image: watson
Wages at the Gymnasium
Among high school teachers, those in the canton of Zug earn the most. Geneva is only in 7th place here.
Teachers in the canton of Glarus can look forward to the largest pay increase (+11,920 francs). In a comparison of cantons, Glarus has moved up from last place. Ticino is now at the bottom of the list.
- Swiss average starting salary: 106,191 francs (+2218 CHF compared to 2023)
- Swiss average maximum wage: 162’087 Franken
Annual salaries of secondary school teachers
The map is colored according to the level of the starting wages. Earnings in the eleventh year of service and the maximum wages can be found in the respective canton box (in some cases there is no information about the eleventh year of service).
Compared to 2012, the largest increase in wages was in Neuchâtel and Geneva. However, according to the wage scales in the canton of Ticino, people earn less money than they did twelve years ago.
Change in annual wages in the first year since 2012:
Image: watson
Wages at vocational schools
Let’s also take a look at the salaries of teachers at vocational schools and vocational baccalaureate schools. However, this only applies to the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. There is no information for Appenzell Innerrhoden because there are no corresponding schools there.
The comparison is also somewhat more difficult at this level because there are sometimes more gradations than in the evaluation (see also info box below).
Limited comparability
The regional conferences write about the salary data collection: “The cantons assign teachers to salary classes according to different criteria. In particular, for teachers at Vocational schools There are sometimes more gradations than recorded in this evaluation.
In addition, the allocation to the wage classes is sometimes not based on the training, but on the type of school where the teaching takes place (e.g. commercial vocational schools vs. industrial vocational schools). These differences in the wage systems limit the comparability of the data collected.»
The best starting salaries are for vocational school teachers in the canton of Zurich. This is followed by their colleagues in Graubünden, Zug and Uri. At the bottom of the rankings are Basel-Stadt and Glarus.
- Average starting salary for German-Swiss people: 102,478 francs (+1588 CHF compared to 2023)
- Average maximum wage in German-speaking Switzerland: 157’901 Franken
Annual salaries of vocational school teachers
The map is colored according to the level of the starting wages. Earnings in the eleventh year of service and the maximum wages can be found in the respective canton box (in some cases there is no information about the eleventh year of service).
Wages at vocational baccalaureate schools
What applies to the vocational schools also applies to the vocational baccalaureate schools: a comparison is more difficult here (see also info box).
But there is no change at the top: Zug is around 3,000 francs ahead of Zurich.
- Average starting salary for German-Swiss people: 107,317 francs (+2,394 CHF compared to 2023)
- Average maximum wage in German-speaking Switzerland: 165’362 Franken
Annual salaries for vocational baccalaureate teachers
The map is colored according to the level of the starting wages. Earnings in the eleventh year of service and the maximum wages can be found in the respective canton box (in some cases there is no information about the eleventh year of service).
Glarus made the biggest jump compared to last year. According to salary classes, teachers here now earn 11,920 francs more than they did in 2023.
This article appeared in previous years. The figures for 2024 have been adjusted. This is how it was in 2023.
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The summer holidays are over in most cantons and teachers are in demand again. How well are they paid? The big overview of salaries by canton – from kindergarten to high school and vocational school.
There is still a shortage of teachers in Swiss schools. The umbrella organization of teachers (LCH) is aware of the problems. Without substitute teachers, it is no longer possible. Increasing student numbers and upcoming waves of retirements are just two of the problems. Last October, the LCH held a press conference. “It is only thanks to improvisation and the great commitment of school management and teams on site that we can ensure that classes always take place,” said Dagmar Rösler, president of the umbrella organization.
