Over the past decade, average teacher salaries have steadily increased. In fact, educators make more than $11,000 today than they did in 2013-14. But when those numbers are adjusted for inflation, they lose substantial spending power.
Lawmakers are now starting to shift their focus to the persistent controversy surrounding teacher compensation, and recent efforts reflect their growing understanding.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has increased teacher pay throughout the state for the second straight year. By adding a $2,000 pay bump in the budget for the 2024 fiscal year, average teacher salaries in Georgia will be over $7,000 higher than the average in the Southeast, Kemp said during his 2023 State of the State address.
In Ohio, the House is pushing a new budget that would raise the minimum salary for new teachers from $30,000 to $40,000 annually, an increase of 33%.
“We were advocating for a starting salary of $50,000,” Scott DiMauro, president of the Ohio Education Association, told The Columbus Dispatch. “But this is a very strong step in the right direction.”
However, new data suggests a need for more changes to teacher pay that adequately reflect the current economic climate. The National Education Association on Monday unveiled its findings from The 2023 State of Educator Pay in America, a quantitative review of teacher salary and student spending by state. According to the data, New York ranks number one for having the highest average teacher salary in the country.
Here’s a look at the top five highest-paying states for teachers in America:
- New York: $91,097
- Massachusetts: $89,538
- California: $88,508
- Washington D.C.: $82,523
- Washington: $81,510
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Across the board, the national average public school teacher salary in 2021-22 was $66,745. According to the review, that number is predicted to increase by 2.6% to $68,469 in 2022-23.
And in states with collective bargaining rights, teachers make 20% more on average and earn up to $80,924 compared to “top salaries” of around $67,400 for teachers in states without collective bargaining.
Although it may seem like teacher pay has been on the rise since 2013, the review notes that the average salary of teachers has actually declined by an estimated 6.4% in the last decade when adjusted for inflation, a trend the NEA describes as “a perfect storm brewing as educator shortages continue to grip schools nationwide,” the review reads.
