Average public school teacher salary - USAFacts (2024)

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Average public school teacher salary - USAFacts? ›

In the 2021–22 school year, the average salary for a K-12 teacher in the US was $66,397. But after adjusting for differences in salaries and the cost of living across the country, patterns emerge about where teachers are more highly compensated.

1. New York. New York is among the best-paying states for teachers. Reasons include an average annual salary of $92,222 that, although below the state's average income of $107,000, is still more than the salaries paid in other states.

According to the National Education Association (NEA), the average salary of a public school teacher in the United States for the 2021-2022 school year is $65,090. However, this is only an average, and salaries can range from around $40,000 to over $100,000 per year.

Montana has the lowest starting salary at $31,418, which is still below its livable wage of $47,000. Thirty-four U.S. states have starting teacher salaries below $40,000 a year.

Full-time teachers in public schools earned about 30 percent more than private school teachers, pulling in an average annual base salary of $61,600, compared with $46,400, according to the survey from the National Center for Education Statistics.

When it comes to teacher compensation adjusted for cost of living, Illinois holds the top spot nationwide. The average teacher salary in Illinois falls well above the national average, while cost of living in the state is far less than in some of the states above.

This data estimates the average salary of public school educators in all 50 states. According to this information, New York, Massachusetts and California—all places that are more expensive to live in—float to the top. Source: National Center for Education Statistics.

Which state has the happiest teachers? ›

Virginia, New York and Utah are the best states for teachers, according to a new WalletHub survey. The personal finance website ranked all 50 states and Washington D.C. from most teacher friendly to least.

According to the National Education Association, Colorado ranks 49th out of 50 when it comes to lowest paid teachers. Teacher salaries continue to decline relative to inflation, threatening to deepen an unprecedented school staffing crisis nationwide.

1. Luxembourg. Luxembourg offers the highest average teacher salaries for primary and secondary education, starting at ₹53,58,285 and reaching ₹61,06,479 respectively.

Teacher pay was highest in Silicon Valley's Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District, where teachers earned, on average, about $152,500. A quick way to adjust pay for cost of living is to calculate the difference between average teacher salary and the cost of the typically priced home.

Districts with the highest average teacher salaries in California are located near Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Montecito Union Elementary District, covering a wealthy community near Santa Barbara, is the top-paying district with an average salary of $101,066.