# School Psychologists

US SOC code 19-3034. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/19-3034

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **63,940** US school psychologists, with median pay of **$95,990** a year. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232516699_The_50th_anniversary_of_the_Thayer_Conference_Historical_perspectives_and_accomplishments) of **1,000** from 1954, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for school psychologists: Pearson Q-global and Q-interactive, 2010 to 2022.

Figures: Official statistic (latest count and pay); Researched context (earliest figure).

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to change +0.8% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=19-3034&ioType=o) (Official statistic).

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35.

## School Psychologists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1896
- Latest US employment: 63,940 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Latest US median pay: $95,990 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Outlook: +0.8% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [17]

### All 9 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1954 | 1,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., ResearchGate / Fagan (2005) [1] |
| 1969 | 5,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., National Association of School… [2] |
| 1990 | 22,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NASP Research Center [2] |
| 2000 | 32,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., NASP Research Center [2] |
| 2021 | 57,110 | $78,780 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [3] |
| 2022 | 60,250 | $81,500 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [3] |
| 2023 | 62,790 | $84,940 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [3] |
| 2024 | 63,830 | $86,930 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [3] |
| 2025 | 63,940 | $95,990 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [3] |

## Sources (38)

### Employment series

1. [ResearchGate / Fagan (2005): "The 50th Anniversary of the Thayer Conference: Historical Perspectives and Accomplishments" (practitioner count at 1954 Thayer Conference)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232516699_The_50th_anniversary_of_the_Thayer_Conference_Historical_perspectives_and_accomplishments), ResearchGate / School Psychology Quarterly
2. [National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) — History of NASP (founding 1969, profession context)](https://www.nasponline.org/research-and-policy/research-center/school-psychology-workforce), National Association of School Psychologists
3. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

4. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

5. [Pennsylvania Center for the Book: Lightner Witmer biography (founding of first psychological clinic, 1896)](https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/witmer__lightner), Pennsylvania Center for the Book / Penn State University Libraries
6. [EBSCO Research Starters: Intelligence Scales in Education (Binet-Simon 1905; Stanford-Binet 1916 history)](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/education/intelligence-scales-education), EBSCO Research Starters
7. [University of Toronto STIC: "Life and Times of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale" (Terman 1916 revision history)](https://utsic.utoronto.ca/life-and-times-of-the-stanford-binet-intelligence-scale/), University of Toronto Scientific Instruments Collection
8. [The Evolution of School Psychology: From Past to Present (Psychology Town: group testing + Stanford-Binet in schools)](https://psychology.town/school/evolution-school-psychology-past-present/), Psychology Town
9. [EBSCO Research Starters: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) — development, history, and use in schools](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/health-and-medicine/wechsler-intelligence-scale-children-wisc), EBSCO Research Starters
10. [Wikipedia: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC history: 1949 original, 1974 WISC-R, subsequent revisions)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wechsler_Intelligence_Scale_for_Children), Wikipedia
11. [IRIS Center / Vanderbilt: "Response to Intervention (RTI): The Major Shift in Education" (2004 IDEA RTI history)](https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/rti01/cresource/q1/p03/), IRIS Center, Vanderbilt University
12. [School Psychology Futures: Futures Conference history (2002 Multisite Conference on the Future of School Psychology)](https://schoolpsychologyfutures.com/about/), School Psychology Futures
13. [Pearson Assessments US: Q-global Web-based Administration, Scoring, and Reporting (Q-global platform overview)](https://www.pearsonassessments.com/en-us/Store/Professional-Assessments/Q-global-Web-based-Administration%2C-Scoring%2C-and-Reporting/p/100000680), Pearson Assessments US
14. [Stepping Stones Group: "Digital Evolution of Assessments: Implications for School Psych and Telepractice" (Q-interactive and teleassessment history)](https://blogs.thesteppingstonesgroup.com/digital-evolution-of-assessments), The Stepping Stones Group
15. [School Psych: "Getting Started with AI: A Beginner's Guide for School Psychologists" (2024-25 AI tool landscape)](https://schoolpsych.com/getting-started-with-ai-a-beginners-guide-for-school-psychologists/), Schoolpsych.com
16. [Springer / Contemporary School Psychology: "Digitizing School Psychology" (2025, AI and digital tool integration)](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40688-025-00556-5?error=cookies_not_supported&code=ca9d5c5d-132c-433a-9906-9e505dfb19e5), Contemporary School Psychology / Springer

### Forecasts and exposure studies

17. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 19-3034 School psychologists (2025: 64.0 thousand; 2035: 64.5 thousand; +0.8%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=19-3034&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Historical notes

18. [Pennsylvania Center for the Book: Lightner Witmer (1867-1956) biography](https://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/bios/witmer__lightner), Pennsylvania Center for the Book / Penn State University Libraries
19. [EBSCO Research Starters: Intelligence Scales in Education (Binet-Simon 1905 and Stanford-Binet 1916 history)](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/education/intelligence-scales-education), EBSCO Research Starters
20. [The Evolution of School Psychology: From Past to Present (Psychology Town: Arnold Gesell as first titled school psychologist, 1915)](https://psychology.town/school/evolution-school-psychology-past-present/), Psychology Town
21. [APA Division 16: School Psychology (Division 16 history and mission)](https://www.apa.org/about/division/div16), American Psychological Association
22. [ResearchGate / Fagan (2005): "The 50th Anniversary of the Thayer Conference: Historical Perspectives and Accomplishments"](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232516699_The_50th_anniversary_of_the_Thayer_Conference_Historical_perspectives_and_accomplishments), ResearchGate / School Psychology Quarterly
23. [National Association of School Psychologists Wikipedia article (founding 1969, St. Louis; specialist vs. doctoral credential history)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_School_Psychologists), Wikipedia
24. [Wikipedia: Education for All Handicapped Children Act (PL 94-142, signed November 29, 1975)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_for_All_Handicapped_Children_Act), Wikipedia
25. [IRIS Center: "The Response-to-Intervention Approach (RTI)" (2004 IDEA RTI codification and history)](https://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/rti01/cresource/q1/p03/), IRIS Center, Vanderbilt University
26. [Wiley Online Library / Psychology in the Schools: "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on school psychologists and evaluation" (Hunt et al., 2023)](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pits.23019), Psychology in the Schools / Wiley

### Predecessors & successors

27. [NASP Research Center: The School Psychology Workforce (career paths into school psychology)](https://www.nasponline.org/research-and-policy/research-center/school-psychology-workforce), National Association of School Psychologists
28. [NASP 2020 Membership Survey Part 1: prior professional background of school psychologists](https://www.nasponline.org/Documents/Research%20and%20Policy/Research%20Center/NRR_2020-Membership-Survey-P1.pdf), National Association of School Psychologists

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-21
- [O\*NET 30.3 — US Department of Labor](https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html), accessed 2026-05-21

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.