# Tutors

US SOC code 25-3041. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/25-3041

Also called: Academic tutor, Private tutor, Math tutor, Reading tutor, Test prep tutor.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **175,070** US tutors, with median pay of **$43,350** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0513/p11s02-legn.html) of **250,000** from 1998, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for tutors: Online tutoring platforms, 2010 to 2020. Online platforms expanded the tutor labor pool beyond the reach of franchise centers by eliminating geographic barriers to entry.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects little or no change in employment from 2025 to 2035 (-0.2%). Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-3041&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **37.1%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Tutors employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1700
- Latest US employment: 175,070 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [2]
- Latest US median pay: $43,350 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [3]
- Outlook: -0.2% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [16]

### All 6 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1998 | 250,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Christian Science Monitor [1] |
| 2021 | 147,100 | $36,470 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [2] |
| 2022 | 174,980 | $36,680 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [2] |
| 2023 | 162,300 | $39,580 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [2] |
| 2024 | 174,660 | $40,090 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [2] |
| 2025 | 175,070 | $43,350 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [2] |

## Sources (43)

### Employment series

1. [Christian Science Monitor — "Big market for tutoring" (May 13, 2003): NTA estimate of 250,000 paid tutors in 1998](https://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0513/p11s02-legn.html), Christian Science Monitor
2. 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

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)

### Tool eras

4. [Encyclopedia.com — Education: Tutors (colonial and early American tutoring practices, Harvard tutors, plantation tutors)](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/education-tutors), Encyclopedia.com
5. [PBS Frontline — "The SAT and the Prep Business: A History" (Stanley Kaplan, 1938, Brooklyn basement)](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/test/history.html), PBS Frontline
6. [Christian Science Monitor — "Big market for tutoring" (Princeton Review: 39,000 to 81,000 students 2000-2002, revenue $34M to $66M)](https://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0513/p11s02-legn.html), Christian Science Monitor
7. [Kumon Institute of Education — Kumon Milestones: New York center 1974, US franchising 1983, 850 North American centers by 1993](https://www.kumon.com/about-kumon/kumon-milestones), Kumon Institute of Education
8. [National Student Support Accelerator — "Key Considerations for Designing High-Impact Tutoring Programs: Learning from NCLB Supplemental Education Services"](https://nssa.stanford.edu/briefs/learning-nclb), National Student Support Accelerator / Stanford
9. [Wikipedia — No Child Left Behind Act: supplemental education services provision, Title I funds per child](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act), Wikipedia
10. [Education Next — "The Tutoring Revolution: More Families Seek One-on-One Help" (private tutoring centers tripled 1997-2022; online platform growth)](https://www.educationnext.org/the-tutoring-revolution-more-families-seek-one-on-one-help-education/), Education Next
11. [National Tutoring Authority — Tutoring Industry Statistics and US Market Data (market $8.36B in 2022; platform growth)](https://nationaltutoringauthority.com/tutoring-industry-statistics-and-market-data), National Tutoring Authority
12. [Council of Chief State School Officers — "States Leading: How State Education Agencies Leveraged Pandemic Relief Funds" ($700M+ in state ESSER tutoring investments)](https://learning.ccsso.org/states-leading-how-state-education-agencies-are-leveraging-the-esser-set-aside), Council of Chief State School Officers
13. [K-12 Dive — "ESSER pandemic spending is over. What will its legacy be?" (200,000+ new positions 2019-2024; tutoring sustainability cliff)](https://www.k12dive.com/news/esser-pandemic-COVID-K-12-spending-what-will-its-legacy-be/815999/), K-12 Dive
14. [Brookings Institution — "What the research shows about generative AI in tutoring" (2025): four RCTs, effect sizes 0.73-1.3 SD, AI tutors double learning gains in some conditions](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-the-research-shows-about-generative-ai-in-tutoring/), Brookings Institution
15. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Tutors (25-3041): -5.1% projected 2024-2034, citing AI tutoring platforms](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/tutors.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

16. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 25-3041 Tutors (2025: 208.4 thousand; 2035: 208.0 thousand; -0.2%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=25-3041&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
17. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 25-3041.00, human-rated β 0.371)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

18. [Bill of Rights Institute — "Eli Whitney: Diligent Pioneer of Modern Industry" (tutoring post arranged by Yale president, salary halved on arrival, Whitney refuses)](https://billofrightsinstitute.org/activities/eli-whitney-diligent-pioneer-of-modern-industry-handout-a-narrative/), Bill of Rights Institute
19. [PBS Frontline — "The SAT and the Prep Business: A History" (Kaplan 1938 founding; 70 centers 1975; Washington Post acquisition 1984)](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/test/history.html), PBS Frontline
20. [Kumon Institute of Education — Kumon Milestones: New York center 1974; US franchising 1983; 850 North American centers 1993](https://www.kumon.com/about-kumon/kumon-milestones), Kumon Institute of Education
21. [Sylvan Learning Franchise — "Our Story": Fowler founded Sylvan 1979; 500+ franchises and NASDAQ IPO 1986](https://www.sylvanfranchise.com/about-us/our-story/), Sylvan Learning
22. [Wikipedia — No Child Left Behind Act: supplemental education services mandate; Title I funds approximately $500-1,000 per qualifying child](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Child_Left_Behind_Act), Wikipedia
23. [Brookings Institution — "What the research shows about generative AI in tutoring" (2025): four RCTs, effect sizes 0.73-1.3 SD, AI tutors double learning gains](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-the-research-shows-about-generative-ai-in-tutoring/), Brookings Institution
24. [Mentomind — "How AI will Transform the Tutoring Industry in 2026" (citing Chegg FY2025: 40% subscriber decline, 39% revenue decline, ChatGPT cited as cause)](https://mentomind.ai/tutoring-industry-in-2026/), Mentomind

### Predecessors & successors

25. [PBS Frontline — "The SAT and the Prep Business: A History": Stanley Kaplan was a teacher before founding his tutoring operation in 1938](https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/sats/test/history.html), PBS Frontline
26. [DataUSA — Tutors: largest age cohort is 20-24 (71,736 workers), reflecting college student and recent graduate dominance of the workforce](https://datausa.io/profile/soc/tutors), DataUSA / Census Bureau ACS
27. [Sylvan Learning Franchise — "Our Story": W. Berry Fowler founded Sylvan in 1979; first franchise model to create salaried center-based tutor roles](https://www.sylvanfranchise.com/about-us/our-story/), Sylvan Learning

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET OnLine — Tutors (25-3041.00): tasks, skills, knowledge, wages, outlook](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/25-3041.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Tutors: 215,500 employed, $40,090 median wage (May 2024), -5.1% projected 2024-34](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/tutors.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Brookings — What the research shows about generative AI in tutoring (2025): peer-reviewed RCT, AI tutor effect size 0.73-1.3 SD](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/what-the-research-shows-about-generative-ai-in-tutoring/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [CallSphere Blog — AI Agents in Education: Khan Academy and Duolingo deploy autonomous tutoring agents to 50M students (2026)](https://callsphere.ai/blog/ai-agents-education-khan-academy-duolingo-autonomous-tutoring), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Mentomind — How AI will Transform the Tutoring Industry in 2026: McKinsey 20-40% admin automation, hybrid model](https://mentomind.ai/tutoring-industry-in-2026/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Goldman Sachs — How Will AI Affect the US Labor Market? (2023): 25% of occupational tasks exposed; education support noted](https://www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/how-will-ai-affect-the-us-labor-market), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Synthesis Tutor — Conversational adaptive K-5 math tutor: real-time difficulty adjustment and error-pattern analysis (2025)](https://www.synthesis.com/tutor), accessed 2026-06-05

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