Salary for high school teacher by state

A person working as a Secondary School Teacher in United States typically earns around 77,800 USD per year. Salaries range from 36,600 USD (lowest) to 123,000 USD (highest).

This is the average yearly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Secondary School Teacher salaries vary drastically based on experience, skills, gender, or location. Below you will find a detailed breakdown based on many different criteria.

Salary for high school teacher by state

In the US, teacher pay has declined over the past decade, but showed small growth between 2019 and 2020.1 Teachers earn 13% more than the average salary across the nation, making $63,645 per year while the national average salary is $56,310.2 Meanwhile, 80% of Americans feel like teachers are underpaid.3

Teachers help develop the next generations of movers and shakers, the ones who will join the workforce or own their own small business. While teaching touches most aspects of our communities in some way, some states have less-than-average teacher pay.

We compared the average salary of primary and secondary school teachers to the average salary for all jobs in each state and Washington, DC. How does teacher pay compare to your paycheck?

The best-paying states for teachers

  • The East Coast features six of the best-paying states for teachers, including New York, which pays teachers the highest salary at an average of $87,233.
  • Pennsylvania ranks the highest for comparative teacher pay, where teachers earn 30% more than the average wage.
  • On the West Coast, California shows strong support for teachers with a 28.8% higher-than-average salary of $84,659.

The worst-paying states for teachers

  • Washington, DC, and Virginia rank last on our list, with teachers earning 17% and 10% less than the average wage, respectively.
  • Seven states (including the District of Columbia) pay teachers below the state’s average salary: Minnesota, North Dakota, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Virginia, and Washington, DC.
  • Mississippi has the lowest salary for teachers at $45,192 per year, but that’s still 8.6% higher than the average wage in the state.

State-by-state comparison of teacher earnings

RankStateAverage teacher salary for 2019-2020Average salary of all other occupations% difference teachers earn compared to all occupations
United States$63,645$56,31013.00%
1Pennsylvania$70,258$53,95030.20%
2New York$87,543$67,85029.00%
3California$84,659$65,74028.80%
4New Jersey$76,376$63,69019.90%
5Iowa$58,917$49,28019.60%
6Connecticut$78,247$65,45019.60%
7Massachusetts$83,622$70,01019.40%
8Oregon$67,685$56,88019.00%
9Illinois$68,305$58,07017.60%
10Kentucky$53,907$46,00017.20%
11Georgia$60,578$51,94016.60%
12Michigan$62,185$53,39016.50%
13Ohio$59,713$51,51015.90%
14Alabama$54,095$46,84015.50%
15Wisconsin$59,176$51,25015.50%
16Maryland$73,444$63,61015.50%
17Wyoming$59,014$51,18015.30%
18Alaska$70,877$61,76014.80%
19Vermont$61,108$53,42014.40%
20Delaware$64,853$56,70014.40%
21Oklahoma$54,038$47,34014.10%
22Idaho$52,875$46,80013.00%
23Nevada$56,672$50,36012.50%
24Hawaii$65,409$58,19012.40%
25Rhode Island$67,323$60,24011.80%
26South Carolina$51,485$46,23011.40%
27Arkansas$49,822$44,78011.30%
28West Virginia$50,238$45,38010.70%
29Montana$52,135$47,27010.30%
30Nebraska$55,267$50,26010.00%
31South Dakota$49,220$44,9609.50%
32New Mexico$54,256$49,6509.30%
33Washington$72,965$66,8709.10%
34Tennessee$51,862$47,5309.10%
35Texas$57,091$52,4009.00%
36Mississippi$45,192$41,6008.60%
37Kansas$52,554$48,6108.10%
38Louisiana$50,217$46,4608.10%
39Maine$54,967$51,2207.30%
40North Carolina$54,682$51,0107.20%
41Indiana$51,508$48,6505.90%
42New Hampshire$60,003$56,7305.80%
43Utah$52,819$51,4302.70%
44Missouri$50,817$50,1401.40%
45Minnesota$58,663$58,720-0.10%
46North Dakota$52,328$52,450-0.20%
47Florida$48,800$50,020-2.40%
48Arizona$50,381$53,400-5.70%
49Colorado$57,269$60,840-5.90%
50Virginia$53,933$60,160-10.40%
51District of Columbia$79,350$95,330-16.80%

How has teacher pay changed over time?

Nationally, teacher salaries dipped by about 3% from 2010 to 2020. But seven states saw dramatic decreases in teacher pay of over 10%: Mississippi, Louisiana, Indiana, Florida, Wyoming, Arkansas, and Ohio.

However, some states like South Dakota, Vermont, and California saw small teacher salary increases below 7%. And Washington state stands out with a nearly 16% increase in teacher pay from 2010 to 2020.

Teacher pay changes over time

Teachers in the US can find some comparatively good-paying gigs in most states, but with changing CDC classroom guidelines for COVID and a salary pay that’s mostly shifted downward, will it be enough to retain a solid teaching population in the future?

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