Teachers have a huge salary depending on where they live, with some districts paying only around $40,000 and others paying more than $100,000 a year. While pay isn't the only factor, that's a huge range and can be a big factor in deciding where you want to teach. These five states below are the highest paying states for teachers.
5. New Jersey
The first state on the list is New Jersey, which pays an average $74,760 per teacher. This state spends an average of $20,021 on each of it's students and ranks highly in quality of life. This state is a great option to teach in because of this quality. It also has a cost of living index of 120, meaning that it's about 20% more expensive than the rest of the country. This is much cheaper than it's neighbor, New York, who boasts a cost of living index of over 180.
4. Connecticut
Next up, we have Connecticut. This fine state pays it's teachers an average salary of $76,465. While having the fourth highest salaries, Connecticut actually boasts the second highest amount of spending per student, spending an average of $20,635. This makes it a great state to teach in.
3. Massachusetts
You may start to notice that there's a trend around these states. With the number three spot, there's another state in the northeast in Massachusetts. Teachers from this state can expect to take in an average salary of $82,042. This is also the first state to earn over $80,000 a year and have over a $5,000 lead on the state below it.
2. California
Bucking the trend of states in the northeast, we have California at number two. California teachers earn $83,059 a year on average, just barely beating out Massachusetts. Even with California paying such high salaries to it's teachers, it's the only state on this list that is outside of the top 10 in funding per student (and outside the north east). California spends an average of $12,498 on each student.
1. New York is the highest paying state for teachers
The top paying state for teachers is New York, with an average salary of $85,889. Another state in the north east also takes the number one spot. On top of their high salary, New York also spends the most on each student of any state in the country, with $24,040 going to each student.
The Lowest Paying State for Teachers: Mississippi
In general, the south is one of the lowest paying regions for teachers in the country, but Mississippi takes the cake as the lowest. Mississippi teachers on average earn $45,105 a year, almost half of teachers in New York. This pay reduction is somewhat made up for by it's low cost of living, especially with housing being about half as expensive as the rest of the country. However, Mississippi also has one of the lowest amount of funds per student, spending only $8,935 on each student.
Data from the National Education Association.
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