A career as a teacher in Missouri can be quite rewarding, provided that you are prepared well before entering the classroom. Salary expectations vary depending on which region of the state you wish to teach in, so it’s important that you do your research ahead of time. As far as starting salaries are concerned, entry-level teachers begin at around $33,000 per year.
Starting salary for teachers in Missouri depends on the school district. In some districts, teachers are paid based on their experience and education level, which means that the starting salary for a teacher may vary.
The first step in getting the most out of your career is to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for, and a good starting point is by understanding the average salary for teachers in Missouri. As one of the largest states in the U.S., Missouri provides plenty of great opportunities for teachers with many different skill sets.
Starting Salary For Teachers In Missouri Overview
Missouri is a wonderful place to live, and the teachers that call it home are the reason why. The state’s teachers are dedicated, hard-working individuals who work tirelessly to provide their students with the best education possible.
The average starting salary for teachers in Missouri is $41,000 per year, which is a little higher than the national average of $38,000 per year. For more experienced teachers with more education, the average salary increases to $50,000 per year—also higher than the national average.
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education tracks teacher salaries by district so that educators can see how much they would make in their local area. You can check out their website here: http://www.dese.mo.gov/data/teacher_salary_data/index.htm
If you’re looking for a new career path and have always dreamed of being a teacher but didn’t know where to start, consider attending one of our teacher training programs! We offer online courses as well as traditional classroom-based programs,
How much does an Entry Level Teacher make in Missouri?
The average Entry Level Teacher salary in Missouri is $39,660 as of July 26, 2022, but the range typically falls between $33,124 and $48,355. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on the city and many other important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.
How Much Do Teachers Make In Missouri?
Your starting salary, or entry level salary, is how much you’ll make in your first year right after your teaching program. Across the nation, first-year teacher salaries are on the rise.
In Missouri, like most states, starting salaries vary by district. You’ll also earn a higher starting salary with a master’s degree than you will with a bachelor’s.
In 2020, Missouri’s average teacher starting salary was $32,970. (2) The chart below shows samples of salaries for entry level teachers around Missouri. All salaries are from the 2020-2021 school year unless otherwise noted.
| City | Salary for first-year teachers with a bachelor’s degree | Salary for first-year for teacher with a master’s degree |
|---|---|---|
| Columbia (2021-2022) | $39,050 | $41,979 |
| Fredericktown | $29,500 | $32,150 |
| Jefferson City | 38,200 | $42,470 |
| Kansas City | $40,500 | $42,000 |
| Marceline | $31,000 | $33,170 |
| Springfield | $38,783 | $42,591 |
| St. Louis | $40,576 | $43,281 |
Missouri’s Starting Teacher Salary Is Higher Than Previously Reported
This quote comes from an ABC 17 news report, but it is simply not true. They attribute that statistic to “A recent report by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.” Over the past few weeks similar stories have spread like wildfire across Missouri media outlets. The Kansas City Star calls this “pathetic.” The Herald-Whig draws on this statistic to claim that Missouri’s school funding is “inadequate.”
There’s just one problem—the statistic is completely wrong.
Although the $31,842 figure is attributed to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), DESE officials did not calculate the figure. In his report to the State Board of Education, Paul Katnik, assistant commissioner at DESE, cites this figure from Niche.com. But, of course, Niche.com didn’t calculate the figure. It cites a report from the National Education Association. We don’t know how the NEA calculated the figure.
What is shocking is that people who should recognize how wrong the number is have not done so. Rather, they are perpetuating this lie. For instance, Todd Fuller, the director of communications for the Missouri State Teachers Association (MSTA) is quoted by KOMU as saying, “I don’t think it’s surprising that we’re ranked where we are…For starting teacher salary to be that near the bottom, it’s discouraging.” The MSTA’s own research contradicts this low salary number!
MSTA collected the starting salary schedule of every school district in the state. It then calculated the average starting salary for each school district. In 2018-19, the starting minimum salary was $34,290. It hasn’t been as low as the DESE reported figure in over five years.
What’s more, the MSTA figure is undoubtedly a lower bound. The MSTA calculations weight each district evenly. Smaller school districts tend to have lower teacher salaries, but they hire fewer teachers. So, we can conclude the average is most likely higher than $34,290. (It’s worth noting that all of these salary figures do not include benefits like health or retirement. This means the economic benefit is quite a bit higher than the salary would indicate.)
So, what is the real starting teacher salary? Using DESE data containing teacher salaries for all Missouri teachers in 2017, I attempt to answer that question. First, I limit the data to those who are reported as first-year teachers in Missouri public schools with no experience in another state. Then, I remove any teacher who is not listed as full-time or is not making $25,000, the required minimum for a full-time teacher.
When I do this, the average starting teacher salary in Missouri is over $37,000. It is slightly higher when we consider the extra pay teachers get for engaging in additional duties, such as tutoring.
Should we really quibble about a few thousand dollars? Absolutely! We should demand accurate information from our policymakers, especially when those statistics are being used to drive policy discussions. We have already seen calls to raise the state minimum starting teacher salary. Interestingly, only three school districts start teachers out at the minimum, according to the MSTA report.
In 2017, just 39 teachers earned a salary of $25,000 and less than two percent of the total teacher workforce earned less than $30,000. Moreover, many of these “teachers” are not what we would consider regular classroom teachers. Of the teachers earning less than $30,000, at least 16 of them are classified as “in school suspension” teachers. Another 58 are listed as “Advisory/Homeroom.”
If you raised all these teachers up to $30,000, it would increase average pay in the state by about $30 a year in average salary. Importantly, it would place an inordinate financial burden on small, rural school districts. The end result of this blunt policy change would likely be teacher layoffs, increased class sizes, more four day school weeks, or the cutting of extra programs in these districts.
The debate about teacher pay is important, but this is the wrong way to go about it. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If we are going to have important policy discussions, we should have that discussion honestly and with the correct facts.
