Chicago Public Schools / John M Smyth School / Teacher Assistant
Job-title file
Plan and deliver instruction, assess student progress, and develop curriculum.
2 employees hold this title in John M Smyth School. Median total compensation for the role is $70,310, below the department median of $100,834.
Compared with the local labor market
Across all employers in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, the median wage for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary — about 46,770 people — is $37,840. John M Smyth School pays a median base salary of $49,608 for this role, 31% above that figure — above the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
The bar is the range of annual wages for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary across every employer in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows John M Smyth School’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary — about 1,420,350 people — is $36,780. John M Smyth School’s median base salary is 35% above that national figure, about the 89th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at John M Smyth School is $70,310, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
Teacher Assistant is held in 324 Chicago Public Schools departments. In John M Smyth School, the median of $70,310 ranks #109 of 324.
Median total compensation for the Teacher Assistant role in other Chicago Public Schoolsdepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
This role is reported in 4 jurisdictions. In Chicago Public Schools, the median of $67,753 ranks #1 of 4. See Teacher Assistant across all of Chicago Public Schools →
Median total compensation for comparable Teacher Assistant roles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.
Record list
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Teacher Assistant/John M Smyth School
Source-specific fields
Tangela Hampton is a Teacher Assistant at John M Smyth School. 2026 total compensation came to $71,350.
Teacher Assistant/John M Smyth School
Source-specific fields
Cetrina Smith is a Teacher Assistant at John M Smyth School. 2026 total compensation came to $69,270.