Here's How Much the Average Teacher Earns in Each State

Wages are a big contributor to teacher shortages.

By Jake Rossen |
Teacher salaries can vary widely by state.
Teacher salaries can vary widely by state. / smartboy10/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

The United States is short on educators. According to estimates from Brown University, there are roughly 55,000 vacant K-12 teacher positions in the country. In Arizona, there are just 43.8 teachers for every 1000 students.

One key reason for these unfilled positions: dissatisfaction over pay. Teachers earn an average of $68,000, which is 8 percent less than the national average for any type of job.

Recently, the National Education Association (NEA) compiled a list of the average public school teacher salary by state. The statistics reveal a fairly significant regional gap—sometimes as much as a 100 percent difference.

  1. Alabama // $60,441
  2. Alaska // $76,371
  3. Arizona // $60,275
  4. Arkansas // $54,309
  5. California // $95,160
  6. Colorado // $60,775
  7. Connecticut // $83,400
  8. Delaware // $68,787
  9. District of Columbia // $84,882
  10. Florida // $53,098
  11. Georgia // $64,461
  12. Hawaii // $70,947
  13. Idaho // $56,365
  14. Illinois // $73,916
  15. Indiana // $57,015
  16. Iowa // $61,231
  17. Kansas // $56,481
  18. Kentucky // $56,296
  19. Louisiana // $54,248
  20. Maine // $59,964
  21. Maryland // $79,420
  22. Massachusetts // $92,307
  23. Michigan // $67,011
  24. Minnesota // $70,005
  25. Mississippi // $53,354
  26. Missouri // $53,999
  27. Montana // $55,909
  28. Nebraska // $58,763
  29. Nevada // $61,719
  30. New Hampshire // $64,169
  31. New Jersey // $81,102
  32. New Mexico // $63,580
  33. New York // $92,696
  34. North Carolina // $56,559
  35. North Dakota // $56,792
  36. Ohio // $66,390
  37. Oklahoma // $55,505
  38. Oregon // $72,476
  39. Pennsylvania // $74,945
  40. Rhode Island // $79,289
  41. South Carolina // $57,778
  42. South Dakota // $53,153
  43. Tennessee // $55,369
  44. Texas // $60,176
  45. Utah // $63,481
  46. Vermont // $66,536
  47. Virginia // $63,103
  48. Washington // $86,104
  49. West Virginia // $52,870
  50. Wisconsin // $62,524
  51. Wyoming // $61,979

California tops teacher pay, with educators earning an average of $95,160 annually. (Massachusetts also ranks highly, at $92,307.)  That’s virtually double that of classroom leaders in Florida ($53,098).

These numbers differ from average starting salaries. According to the NEA, the national average for new teachers is $44,530.

Wages only tell part of the story. Staffing shortages are due in some measure to the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw teachers nearing retirement opting to exit early over health concerns. But because salaries are stagnant, fewer graduates are looking to enter the field.

With few or no applicants, some districts are opting to fill positions with workers who lack the experience or credentials that would have been required in the past. Recruiting foreign nationals for jobs and increasing class sizes are two of the ways districts are coping; on the state level, legislation to bump up pay is being introduced. Whether that will be enough to close the gap in the coming years remains to be seen.

Read More About Education:

manual

[h/t National Education Association]

Home / EDUCATION