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Average Preschool Teacher Salary in Saudi Arabia for 2026

A preschool teacher in Saudi Arabia earns about 124,400 SAR a year. That's 38% below the national average of 200,000 SAR.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Saudi Arabia sit around 58,720 SAR a year, while the very top stretches to 195,200 SAR. Everything on this page is in Saudi riyal (SAR, symbol ر.س), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Saudi Arabia, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.


How much does a preschool teacher make in Saudi Arabia?

Average salary
124,400 SAR
10,366 SAR per month
Lowest reported
58,720 SAR
4,893 SAR per month
Highest reported
195,200 SAR
16,266 SAR per month

A typical preschool teacher working in Saudi Arabia brings home around 10,366 SAR a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 58,720 SAR, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 195,200 SAR for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior preschool teacher working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.


How preschool teacher pay ranges in Saudi Arabia

A good way to think about salary in Saudi Arabia is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all preschool teachers in Saudi Arabia earn less than 128,900 SAR a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 84,880 SAR (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 172,200 SAR (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of preschool teachers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 58,720 SAR. The highest stretch to 195,200 SAR, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

58,720
Low
128,900
Median
195,200
High
84,880
25th
172,200
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in SAR

Preschool teacher pay by experience in Saudi Arabia

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a preschool teacher in Saudi Arabia, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical preschool teacher salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    71,020 SAR
  • 2-5 Years
    +38% from previous
    98,120 SAR
  • 5-10 Years
    +31% from previous
    128,900 SAR
  • 10-15 Years
    +24% from previous
    159,500 SAR
  • 15-20 Years
    +8% from previous
    172,200 SAR
  • 20+ Years
    +9% from previous
    187,300 SAR

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 38%. That is the point at which a preschool teacher typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.


Preschool teacher pay by education in Saudi Arabia

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving preschool teacher pay in Saudi Arabia. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average preschool teacher salary in Saudi Arabia broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    111,240 SAR
  • Master's Degree
    +43% from previous
    159,100 SAR

Preschool teacher gender pay gap in Saudi Arabia

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Saudi Arabia is no exception. Male preschool teachers in Saudi Arabia earn an average of 130,400 SAR a year, while female preschool teachers earn around 123,400 SAR. That works out to a 6% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Preschool Teacher gender pay gap

5%

Men earn this much more than women on average in Saudi Arabia.

Men 130,400 SAR
Women 123,400 SAR

Pay raises for a preschool teacher in Saudi Arabia

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in Saudi Arabia sees a raise of about 9% every 17 months, which works out to roughly 6% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in Saudi Arabia, the national average raise is around 8% every 17 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in Saudi Arabia:

  • Banking
    2%
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
    1%
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Preschool teacher bonus rates in Saudi Arabia

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

30%

30% of preschool teachers in Saudi Arabia reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a preschool teacher a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary. The remaining 70% of preschool teachers reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in Saudi Arabia

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Preschool teacher: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in Saudi Arabia is about 8% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

7%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Saudi Arabia on average.

Public sector 207,800 SAR
Private sector 192,600 SAR

Preschool teacher salary by city in Saudi Arabia

Preschool teacher pay is not even across Saudi Arabia. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Mecca
  • Dammam
  • Jeddah
  • Riyadh
  • Medina
  • Abha
  • Khubar
  • Taif
  • Tabuk
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
MeccaCity142,300 SAR152,300 SAR66,120-227,600 SAR
DammamCity139,100 SAR138,800 SAR65,920-214,000 SAR
JeddahCity138,800 SAR152,000 SAR63,400-225,700 SAR
RiyadhCity137,400 SAR127,700 SAR73,760-207,700 SAR
MedinaCity136,100 SAR138,200 SAR66,020-209,700 SAR
AbhaCity129,000 SAR119,900 SAR68,900-196,800 SAR
KhubarCity128,500 SAR138,800 SAR61,460-207,800 SAR
TaifCity123,400 SAR123,400 SAR62,100-190,500 SAR
TabukCity118,800 SAR114,820 SAR60,840-181,600 SAR


Preschool Teacher in Saudi Arabia: FAQs

  • How much does a preschool teacher make per month in Saudi Arabia?

    A preschool teacher in Saudi Arabia earns about 10,366 SAR a month before tax, based on an annual average of 124,400 SAR.

  • What's the salary range for a preschool teacher in Saudi Arabia?

    Entry-level preschool teachers in Saudi Arabia start near 58,720 SAR. Top-end pay reaches around 195,200 SAR. The middle 50% of earners sit between 84,880 and 172,200 SAR.

  • Is the median preschool teacher salary in Saudi Arabia higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 128,900 SAR, higher than the average of 124,400 SAR. Half of preschool teachers in Saudi Arabia earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for preschool teachers in Saudi Arabia?

    Men working as a preschool teacher in Saudi Arabia earn around 6% more than women on average (130,400 vs 123,400 SAR a year).

  • Do preschool teachers in Saudi Arabia get bonuses?

    About 30% of preschool teachers in Saudi Arabia reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4% of base salary.

  • Do preschool teachers earn more in the public or private sector in Saudi Arabia?

    In Saudi Arabia, the public sector pays a preschool teacher about 8% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do preschool teachers in Saudi Arabia get a pay raise?

    A preschool teacher in Saudi Arabia sees a raise of around 9% every 17 months, equivalent to roughly 6% a year.