Data: NEA Rankings & Estimates, April 2025 (https://www.nea.org/resource-library/educator-pay-and-student-spending-how-does-your-state-rank/teacher)

Tool: Mapchart (https://www.mapchart.net/usa.html#)

Posted by snakkerdudaniel

48 comments

  2. It’s wild that the average teacher makes over $100k in CA but the starting salary for a tenure track professor at Berkeley is only $80k

  6. And then Oklahoma was like, anyone coming from New York or California has to take a woke test, as if anyone is leaving those states for literal fucking Oklahoma.

  7. The couple states I checked, this is about double the average income of the state.

  9. Damn, The East Coast & Cali really had to up the average salary lots since the last time I checked 😂 I’m just getting old I guess

  10. I left my software job to teach in a public school for four years. It was incredibly rewarding and I still occasionally run students of mine and it feels great to hear them talk about what they learned in my class and how it has helped them in their later education and careers.

    Having said that, I think I have a unique perspective in having worked in a professional situation where you I was well compensated and treated with respect, then become a public school teacher, then gone back to software. As a teacher, I worked 2x harder than I ever have in software for a fraction of the pay and support . I used to take sick days so I could get through the dozens of hours of grading it took to give kids the feedback they needed to improve. I had 35 students per class and trying to give differentiated instruction and just maintain order was often difficult.

    Teachers should be among the highest paid people in our society. It should be a job that has incredible competition because people want the high pay and benefits. That we pay teachers so poorly in this country is an indictment of our values.

  12. Would be interesting to see it adjusted by cost of living in the given state

  14. This is the sixth or seventh map in a row that I’ve seen where Mississippi is the worst at something. 😂😂

  15. Seems about right for what an average job for a 4 year degree would be.

  16. Salary adjusted for purchasing power would be better.

  17. This should be compared to avg. cost of living. And maybe presented as a ratio per state

  18. Shouldn’t this be adjusted for cost of living to be more useful?

  19. People talk about it but they don’t really grasp how some of the most important parts of education are so poorly funded. Teachers and meals. Plenty of waste and bloat in other areas that could be focused just on paying high quality teachers and providing nutritious meals.

  20. Median income for the state of Mississippi is around $54k so that honestly doesn’t seem that terrible

  21. It would be interesting to see this mapped against state-level student outcomes.

  22. Would be fascinating to see this adjusted by cost of living in the state.

  23. I shit you not, Oklahoma teachers rallied against their own raises.

  24. This is probably why I don’t feel that bad for teachers … all the ones I know are in CA and get paid 6-figs + pension plan contributions. It’s not that bad.

  26. Me as a full-time librarian making less than a Mississippi teacher.

  28. What’s crazier about this is the difference in salary increases over time. A teacher in Massachusetts will start out at a pretty reasonable number for their qualifications depending on where they work, but they can generally double that number or better over the course of their career if they keep up with licensing requirements and professional development.

    A teacher in Florida will start out only a few thousand lower than a similar sized district in Massachusetts, but over the next 20 years their salaries are barely going to increase enough to cover cost of living adjustments.

    I know that because I’ve lived in both states and decided not to move back to Florida when I realized how much money I would lose by building my career there. Not to mention all the other stuff there

  29. I feel like this would be way worse if it was adjusted for cost of living. Like teachers making $60k in phoenix, AZ are WAY worse off than those making $60k in Birmingham, AL. 

  31. This is just a map of cost of living with a very stupid gradient.

  32. Mississippi pays more than any province in Canada.

    FFS

  36. Important to note that even in the higher earning states, average is significantly skewed by the large cities and their wealthy suburbs.

    I teach in a rural part of one of these states and enjoy a lot of healthy union protections and a strong labor tradition but still will not make six figures after 30 years on the job.

  39. This really needs to be a differential vs average pay in the state to actually show how states treat teachers vs the rest

    Or teachers vs. base state legislators pay

  40. This data isn’t beautiful. It takes no account of the cost of living differences.

  41. Now do one of average teacher salaries divided by average cost of living.

    Might look a little different.

  42. It must suck to be a teacher in Florida, COL has exploded there in the last 10 years and they are near last in salary.

  43. Making only 100k a year in San Francisco qualifies you to housing assistance.

  44. Great map. I would put on the legend the year and whether public or all. I know it’s in the data link.

  45. not too shabby for working 9 months a year. and having 3 month summer vacation (unpaid) but lots of paid holidays and breaks are included

  47. Not accurate. State is too broad. Lowest salaries in Cali are around 50k average but SF? Generally around 159k average. Highest paid, wealthier school districts make the smaller, poorer districts look good.

  48. I’d love to know where the sweet spot is in terms of salary vs cost of living. I live in Virginia and make $65k as a teacher, but it still feels like there’s basically nothing left after expenses.

Comments are closed.