Updated October 16, 2026

PERM occupation, SOC 25-2011.00, #252 of 1,410 by filings

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

726 H-1B LCAs

Biggest sponsor: Arkansas Early Learning, Inc. · 13% of its filings
Busiest state: CA · 24% of its filings
Major group: Education and library · SOC 25

Weighing an offer for this job?

Where it falls among certified offers, and the four wage levels DOL sets for it by area.

Compare my offer DOL's wage levels for this job

This rate is level with the field

Over 138 decided filings, this rate can't be told apart from the field in either direction.

Why

The 95% interval runs up to a 4.0% denial rate, which still covers the 3.20% the field as a whole records.

Median wage

$38,000

all PERM $103,272

Filings

143

#252 of 1,410

Approval

99.3%

field 96.8%

Median days

486

9 slower than the field

What it pays

Where its median offer sits among every occupation, then the whole ladder of certified offers by year and by state.

Position in the field 535 occupations with 30+ decided

Median offered wage

$38,000above 21%

$18k $500k

Approval rate

99.3%ahead of 87%

49% 100%

Median days to decision

486 daysahead of 16%

323d 536d

Each bar counts occupations at that value. More

Each bar counts occupations at that value. PERM runs two labour markets through one process, which is why the wage axis is two humps rather than a bell. The line marks this one.

DOL PERM disclosure files

Who files it

The sponsors and firms with the most PERM filings under this code, the places the work sits, and who the workers were.

Sponsors filing it

Arkansas Early Learning, Inc. 18 filings
HIMNEL USA INC. 6 filings
Kids Island Learning Center II 3 filings
Tots Land Inc 3 filings
Alpha Preparatory Academy LLC. 2 filings
Ashfield Corporation 2 filings

How this is counted

The employers with the most applications under this code. 34 of 143 filings, 24% of the total.

Firms filing it

Ferguson Immigration Law 18 filings
ENG & NISHIMURA 7 filings
Law Offices of Nadadur S. Kumar 4 filings
Wasserman, Mancini & Chang PC 4 filings
DB Associates, Ltd. 3 filings
Immigration Lawyers PC 3 filings

How this is counted

The law firms named on the most applications under this code. 39 of 143 filings, 27% of the total.

Where the jobs are

California 34
Florida 25
Arkansas 19
Illinois 9
Maryland 9
Georgia 8

How this is counted

The worksite state on the application, which is where the job is and not where the company is headquartered. Volume by state across everyone is on the state map. These 6 states cover 104 of 143 filings.

Where the work is

Bentonville, AR 9
Rogers, AR 9
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 6
San Francisco, CA 5
Bethesda, MD 3
Chicago, IL 3

How this is counted

The worksite city on the application, which is where the job is. These 6 cities cover 35 of 143 filings.

Newspapers it advertised in

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette

18 cases
Los Angeles Times

11 cases
The Washington Post

11 cases
Sun-Sentinel

10 cases
Chicago Sun-Times

9 cases
San Francisco Chronicle

7 cases

How this is counted

The newspaper or professional journal named for each case's two print ads, one count per paper per case, however the filer spelled it.

Additional steps it used

Job search websites

50 cases
Local or ethnic newspapers

44 cases
The employer's website

31 cases
Radio or TV ads

19 cases
Campus placement offices

4 cases
Private employment firms

4 cases

How this is counted

The steps a professional job needs beyond the job order and the ads, by the number of cases that name each.

How long before filing it began

Under 30 days

0.0%
30 to 59 days

0.7%
60 to 89 days

29%
90 to 119 days

28%
120 to 149 days

13%
150 to 180 days

26%
Over 180 days

2.9%

How this is counted

Days from the first recruitment step to the filing. 20 C.F.R. § 656.17(e) puts the job order and ads 30 to 180 days before filing.

Where every PERM employer recruits

Who filled these jobs, FY2016 to FY2023

From DOL's old form; the form in use since mid-2023 doesn't carry them. Top six of each.

Country of citizenship

Philippines 3
India 2
Sri Lanka 2
Venezuela 2
Colombia 1
Jamaica 1

Worker's education

Bachelor's 7
Other 3
Associate's 2
High School 2
Master's 1

Visa held when filed

H-1B 6
E-2 2
F-1 2
B-2 1
J-1 1

Schools

ACHARYA NAGARJUNA UNIVERSITY 1
ASSOCIATION MONTESSORI INTERNATIONAL TRAINING CENTER 1
CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL EXAMINATIONS 1
CEBU NORMAL UNIVERSITY 1
COLLEGE OF MODERN MONTESSORI 1
DIVINA PASTORA COLLEGE 1

Fields of study

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 3
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 1
CHILD CARE 1
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION 1
EDUCATION PRIMARY 1
HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA 1

The job itself

What O*NET says the work is, what the market pays it by BLS's survey, its outlook, and DOL's wage levels year by year.

What the job pays outside PERM BLS May 2025, DOL wage year 2026-27

United States
478,780 jobs
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR
Bentonville, Rogers
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
Rancho Cucamonga
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
San Francisco
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Bethesda
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
Chicago

$40k$60k$80k

middle half of pay (BLS)
median
10th to 90th percentile
DOL's Levels I to IV, left to right
median PERM offer

Market pay and DOL wage levels, by area
Area	BLS median	Level I	Level II	Level III	Level IV
United States	$38,140
Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR	$35,680	$29,765	$35,006	$40,269	$45,510
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	$46,010	$37,731	$43,618	$49,483	$55,370
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	$53,810	$46,322	$51,064	$55,806	$60,549
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	$44,660	$35,901	$43,326	$50,752	$58,178
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	$43,050	$36,546	$41,122	$45,698	$50,274

How these figures fit together

BLS surveys employers on what they pay everyone in a job; DOL builds its four levels from the same survey a year later (the July 2026 wage year uses BLS's May 2025 estimates). DOL publishes levels by area, not nationally, so the United States line has none. Levels are hourly in DOL's tables; here they're shown a year at 2,080 hours, as DOL computes them. The metros are the ones holding the most of this job's PERM filings, placed by Census's county files.

The block is the middle half of what employers report paying everyone in this job, citizen or not; the ticks under it are DOL's four prevailing wage levels for that metro, the floors a PERM or H-1B offer is held to. More

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; DOL OFLC wage tables

DOL's levels for this job in Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR, year by year

Each July DOL resets the four levels from BLS's newest survey. A determination keeps the figures of the year it was issued in.

DOL wage levels by wage year, Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR
Wage year	Level I	Level II	Level III	Level IV
2026-27	$29,765	$35,006	$40,269	$45,510
2025-26	$28,059	$34,445	$40,830	$47,216
2024-25	$26,250	$31,782	$37,336	$42,869
2023-24	$24,086	$27,997	$31,928	$35,838
2022-23	$23,587	$28,766	$33,966	$39,146
2021-22	$21,486	$26,645	$31,824	$36,982

Every area and both wage tables in the wage-level tool.

What the job is

Instruct preschool-aged students, following curricula or lesson plans, in activities designed to promote social, physical, and intellectual growth.

Preparation: Medium Preparation Needed; O*NET Job Zone 3
DOL's education basis: Associate's degree; Wage year 2026-27
Jobs, 2025 to 2035: +4.5%; About 66,700 openings a year (BLS)
Typical entry: Associate's degree; BLS

Bright Outlook O*NET OnLine lists this job for rapid growth.

The work, most important first

Teach basic skills, such as color, shape, number and letter recognition, personal hygiene, and social skills.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order.
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs and interests.
Provide a variety of materials and resources for children to explore, manipulate, and use, both in learning activities and in imaginative play.
Serve meals and snacks in accordance with nutritional guidelines.
Attend to children's basic needs by feeding them, dressing them, and changing their diapers.

The education workers in it report

High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)

29%
Post-Secondary Certificate

10%
Some College Courses

12%
Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree

12%
Bachelor's Degree

17%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate

8%
Master's Degree

12%

Titles people use for it

Montessori Preschool Teacher, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher (Pre-K Teacher), Teacher, Toddler Teacher, Child Development Teacher, Early Childhood Teacher, Group Teacher, Infant Teacher.

This section includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database and O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. PERM Tracker has modified some of this information (the shares are rounded and only the top tasks are shown); what changed. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Against other jobs

Where this sits in the ranking

Ranked 252 of 1,410 by volume: 251 filed at least as many filings, and 1,158 filed no more.

Just above: Natural Sciences Managers 143 filings
Just below: Pharmacists 143 filings

Other education and library roles

Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. More

Occupations sharing this one's SOC major group, which is carried in the first two digits of the code. Wages inside a group still swing hard, because the group holds every seniority level and every metro.

The same job on H-1B

726 certified H-1B labor condition applications for this occupation since FY2020, offering a median of $44,843 a year; the middle half ran $37,000 to $52,837. By state and year in the salary explorer.

Notes on these numbers

Reading the wage

A floor, not a salary survey: every level and metro mixed. DOL's four wage levels for this job, by area.

What the median is

The median wage employers committed to in federal filings for this occupation. It mixes every experience level and every metro, and it's a floor: the employer must offer at least the prevailing wage DOL determines for the occupation, level and county. Across all PERM filings the middle half of offered wages runs $45,178 to $141,357, so a figure inside that band is unremarkable whichever occupation it belongs to. The levels page reads DOL's OFLC wage search live.

What these numbers don't say

4 notes

The code is the identity: This one is SOC 25-2011.00. Two SOC codes can carry the same job title, so a title that looks duplicated on the ranking is two different occupations. Match on the code when you're checking a specific filing.
A median isn’t an offer: It's the middle of all 143 wages committed to for this occupation across the country, entry level and principal alike. The same role's medians swing hard by worksite, which the state map shows directly.
Approval isn’t about the occupation: The denial rate moves with what happened in the filing rather than with the job title, so nothing here is a property of Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education. The measured factors are on the denial risk page, published as separate rates.
Nothing here is pending: All 143 counted here carry a decision date, because every case in DOL's disclosure files does, so a case still waiting is in none of them. The largest filer of this occupation is Arkansas Early Learning, Inc.. Where the queue stands today is on the processing times page.

The window these figures cover: DOL's PERM disclosure files for fiscal years 2024 to 2026, through the third quarter of 2026, 373,939 decided cases. Nothing pending is counted here. How each figure is built

Weighing an offer?

Compare it against this median, then check the state map, where the same occupation's medians swing hard by worksite.

Setting one?

All 1,410 occupations sort together on the wages page, and denial rates show how outcome moves with the offered wage.

Filings newer than DOL's last published file can't be attributed to this occupation until DOL publishes them. The live list on the case search page carries them by employer.

Case data: DOL quarterly disclosure files (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jun 30, 2026 · quarterly

Employers and firms: Derived from DOL's disclosure files · data through Jun 30, 2026 · rebuilt with each quarterly load

O*NET occupation data: O*NET Database, USDOL/ETA (onetcenter.org) · data through Aug 16, 2026 · twice a year

BLS market pay: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (bls.gov) · data through May 31, 2025 · yearly, each spring

BLS employment projections: BLS Employment Projections (bls.gov) · data through Dec 31, 2025 · yearly, each autumn

DOL wage tables: DOL OFLC wage data downloads (flag.dol.gov) · data through Jul 1, 2026 · yearly, each july

What each source includes

Case data: Decided PERM cases only. A case still waiting isn't in here, so counts and durations describe finished cases.

Employers and firms: Employers, law firms and occupations ranked from decided cases only.

O*NET occupation data: What O*NET says each occupation is and takes: its description, tasks, Job Zone and the education workers report. A description of the job everywhere, not of any one employer's opening.

BLS market pay: What employers report paying everyone in each job, nationally, by state and by metro, from BLS's yearly survey (May of the year named). Citizens and immigrants alike; not PERM offers.

BLS employment projections: BLS's ten-year projection of each job's employment and yearly openings, and the entry education it calls typical. A projection, not a count.

DOL wage tables: The four prevailing wage levels DOL publishes for every job in every area, each wage year from 2021-22, as DOL's own tables print them. The floors an offer is held to, not what anyone was paid.

Cite this page

Waiting on a PERM case?

When it'll likely be decided
An email when DOL moves it