Verified on Sep 8, 2026
A substitute teacher covers a class when the regular teacher is out. Pay comes from your own school district, not one national number. Williamson County, Tennessee pays $110 a day. Sacramento County Office of Education pays $362.51 a full day. Most states also require a background check, and some require a college-level permit before you can start.
A substitute teacher covers a class when the regular teacher is away. People call this “subbing” for short.
You work for a school district. A district runs several public schools in one area. Some large counties use a “county office of education” instead. That is one office that runs schools for a whole county.
On a normal day, you follow the teacher’s lesson plan. You take attendance. You keep the class on task. Your grade level and subject can change every time a school calls you.
Sometimes you cover the same classroom for many days in a row. School staff call this a long-term assignment. States often limit how many days in a row you can do this without a full teaching license.
Every state sets its own rule for who can sub. Some districts add their own rule on top. California wants a four-year college degree, also called a bachelor’s degree. New Jersey wants 30 college credits, plus a school willing to sponsor you. Tennessee lets you sub in one classroom for up to 20 days in a row. You need no state teaching license for that. Fairfax County Public Schools is one district in Virginia. It sets its own local rule: 60 college credit hours, or one of a few listed exceptions.
Your own state sets your real rule. The rest of this page shows you how to find it.
There is no single national pay rate for this job. Each school district sets, and publishes, its own day rate. Your best move is finding your own district’s number.
Here is why the gap between districts is so wide. Sacramento County Office of Education, in California, pays $362.51 for a full day of subbing. That number is not random. This county’s own pay sheet says the rate is based on the first step of its teacher pay chart. “Certificated” is the word schools use for staff who hold a state teaching license. So the sub rate here is tied to what this county pays its licensed teachers.
Compare that to Williamson County Schools, in Tennessee. It pays $110 a day for your first 20 days. That is for a sub with only a high school diploma. The rate climbs to $120 a day after that, then $130 a day past 50 days. A sub with an active Tennessee teaching license earns more there. That rate runs $130, then $140, then $150 a day, on the same schedule. Work 50 or more full days in a school year. Your starting rate goes up the next year. Special education days pay $10 more. This is a published ladder, not a guess.
Fairfax County, Virginia, pays by the hour, not the day. A short assignment pays $21.22 an hour. Cover the same class for 11 days in a row. Then the long-term rate kicks in. It pays $28.52 an hour.
The federal government tracks a national average too. It says substitute teachers earn $20.95 an hour on average, across the whole country. That figure blends every state and district into one number. It cannot tell you what your own district pays.
A private staffing company, Swing Education, has its own estimate. It says about $107 a day in Texas, and up to $316 a day in California. Those are company estimates across many districts, not one district’s own published rate. Swing says it takes no cut of the posted rate, and pays its subs every week.
To find your real number, search your district’s name plus the words substitute pay. Most districts post a pay sheet as a PDF on their HR webpage. HR is short for human resources.
We could not find one source that adds up the full wait from application to first paycheck. The pieces, like fingerprint checks and permit review, come from different places. We do not add them together here either.
This fits you if you want part-time, flexible work, not a full-time job.
It fits retirees who miss teaching, or who want extra income on their own time. No fact requires past teaching experience.
It fits parents at home too. Your kids are already in school during the hours you would be working.
It fits you if you can say yes on short notice. Many districts call subs the night before, or the morning of, an open day.
Skip this if you need money this month. In California, an out-of-state fingerprint check can take 10 to 12 weeks to clear. New Jersey charges a $125 fee before you can even apply.
Skip this if you cannot get to a school by 7 a.m. on a day’s notice. Sub calls often come early, for that same day.
Skip this if you cannot pay for your own medical test. Fairfax County, Virginia, requires a negative TB test, and the district does not cover that cost. A TB test checks for tuberculosis, a lung disease.
Skip this if you cannot pass a background check. Most districts require one before you can start.
Day 1. Find your district’s HR webpage. Look for a PDF with its substitute pay rates.
Day 2. Check your state’s rule. Gather what you need, like a college transcript.
Day 3. Start your background check. In California, an in-state fingerprint check, called “Live Scan,” usually clears in 3 to 7 days. An out-of-state check can take 10 to 12 weeks.
Day 4. Book your TB test if your district requires one. You pay for this yourself.
Day 5. Submit your online application. Fairfax County’s applicants use its Instructional Talent Gateway.
Day 6. Sign up for orientation if one is offered.
Day 7. Check your email for a start date. Know that your first paycheck is still weeks away, not days.
You need comfortable, closed-toe shoes. You are on your feet all day. You often get little notice of your grade or building.
You need a folder or bag for your paperwork. You will carry identification, background-check forms, and a recent TB test result to most schools.
A phone with your district’s or a staffing app’s sub-request system helps. Staffing platforms like Swing post same-day openings through an app or automated calls.
You are paid only for days you actually work. We could not find one national rule that states this outright. Two sourced examples point the same way, though.
California’s unemployment office says a district need not set a fixed return date between school terms. That usually blocks a between-term unemployment claim there.
Sacramento’s own pay sheet pays some work differently. Summer school work gets paid by the hour, not a flat day rate.
Costs land before your first paycheck. California charges a nonrefundable $100 application fee, plus $49 more for an out-of-state fingerprint card. New Jersey charges $125. Fairfax County will not cover your TB test.
This is shift work, not a set schedule. State rules also cap how long you can cover one classroom. California limits it to 30 days, 20 for special education. Tennessee’s no-license window closes at 20 days too. Once a cap hits, you cannot keep covering that same classroom. What happens next depends on your district’s own rules.
How much does substitute teaching pay? There is no single number. It depends on your district. Williamson County, Tennessee, pays $110 a day for a new sub. Sacramento County Office of Education pays $362.51. Search your own district’s name plus “substitute pay” to find its rate.
Do I need a college degree? It depends on your state. California requires one. New Jersey requires 30 college credits. Tennessee allows you to sub for 20 days with no state license at all.
Is this a 1099 job, or a regular job? It depends on who hires you. Fairfax County gives new subs an employee ID and its own employee training. That points to a regular job there, not contract work. A federal tax ruling looked at a different sub-placement company. It found that company’s worker was a common-law employee, not a contractor. Staffing companies can differ from a district. Ask whoever hires you how they will pay you. Do not assume either answer fits your case. If you get a W-2, that is a tax form. It shows your pay, and any tax already taken out.
How fast can I start earning? It depends on your state. An in-state fingerprint check in California usually takes 3 to 7 days. An out-of-state one can take 10 to 12 weeks.
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