The Teacher Pay Gap Can Range From 2% To 33% Depending On What State You Live In
The sad fact that teachers in the U.S. are severely underpaid compared to other professions has been well-known for decades now.
However, new figures released by the National Education Association have illuminated just how much that pay gap can differ depending upon where you reside in America.
According to the report, “Depending on the state, educators make between two and thirty-three percent less than other comparable college-educated workers.”
The state of Virginia underpays teachers the most, with the average public school teacher earning nearly thirty-three percent less in weekly wages.
Following Virginia is Arizona at thirty-two percent, New Mexico at nearly thirty percent, and Oklahoma at twenty-nine percent.
The “best” state for teachers to work in– or rather, the one with the lowest pay gap– is actually Wyoming, which has a gap of only about two percent.
New Jersey is right behind at just over three percent; meanwhile, Hawaii comes in third at nearly ten percent.
And the rest of the U.S. states mostly compensate teachers at about twelve to twenty-five percent less than workers in comparable professions.
Nonetheless, these statistics may not be all “doom and gloom.” The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) did reveal that from 2018 to 2019, the national teacher pay gap decreased from twenty-two percent to nineteen percent.
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Still, though, teachers’ compensation rates have a long way to go. Barring that slight increase from 2018 to 2019, the teacher pay gap has steadily increased for decades.
In 1996, teachers earned about six percent less compared to other college-educated workers. But, twenty-two years later, the average gap increased to a staggering twenty-two percent in 2018.
EPI researcher Lawrence Mishel underscored how the fate of the public school system and future generations’ education depends on properly compensating teachers for their work– which starts at the district level.
“In order to recruit and retain talented teachers, school districts need to address the inadequacy of teacher pay. It is not just a fairness issue. Eliminating the teacher pay penalty is crucial to building the teacher workforce we need,” Mishel said.
In fact, between February of 2020 and May of 2022, about three hundred thousand public school teachers left the workforce, and now, fifty-five percent of the remaining educators are also considering resigning, according to a National Education Association survey.
This signals a mass exodus crisis in dire need of attention and correction by elected officials.
To read the report’s complete findings, visit the link here.
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