Teachers are the backbone of any educational system. They are irreplaceable as they prepare our children for workforce, for higher education, and for life in general. Teaching is the most respected profession and considered the most important and valuable service for the society.
Even when the profession is highly valued and essential, the pay is significantly less than other professions for college-educated workers. Even when the importance of education cannot be overstated, public schools have to suffer for funds in many communities across Unites States.
The recent and ongoing teacher strikes in states like Arizona and Oklahoma is clear evidence that pay structures for teachers may be a serious problem in some states.
The median annual salary across all the teaching profession is $57,949, which is $3,000 less than the median annual salary of $60,006 of all the workers with bachelor’s degree.And it is $15,000 lower than the median salary of workers with master’s degree that is $72, 852. Approximately, 56% of the teachers have a master’s degree.
Below are the states with the lowest pay for teachers.
Oklahoma
- Median salary, school teachers: $39,306
- Median salary, all workers: $33,630 (11th lowest)
- Per pupil expenditure: $9,227 (7th lowest)
- High school graduation rate: 82.5% (21st lowest)
- Cost of living: 10.1% less than nat’l avg. (10th lowest)
South Dakota
- Median salary, school teachers: $41,271
- Median salary, all workers: $32,340 (4th lowest)
- Per pupil expenditure: $11,133 (19th lowest)
- High school graduation rate: 83.9% (23rd lowest)
- Cost of living: 11.8% less than nat’l avg. (4th lowest)
Arizona
- Median salary, school teachers: $44,284
- Median salary, all workers: $36,270 (25th highest)
- Per pupil expenditure: $8,131 (2nd lowest)
- High school graduation rate: 77.4% (7th lowest)
- Cost of living: 3.8% less than nat’l avg. (25th highest)
Mississippi
- Median salary, school teachers: $44,294
- Median salary, all workers: $30,070 (the lowest)
- Per pupil expenditure: $9,885 (13th lowest)
- High school graduation rate: 75.4% (4th lowest)
- Cost of living: 13.8% less than nat’l avg. (the lowest)
North Carolina
- Median salary, school teachers: $45,195
- Median salary, all workers: $34,750 (16th lowest)
- Per pupil expenditure: $9,217 (6th lowest)
- High school graduation rate: 85.6% (22nd highest)
- Cost of living: 8.8% less than nat’l avg. (17th lowest)
Above is the list of the states which pay the least to their teachers. Salaries of teachers are just one component of any state’s overall public schools spending, and states with low teacher salaries tend to have low per pupil expenditures too. The spending on education, like any other programs and services, largely depends on state’s revenue.
In states with low teacher salaries, public educational investments share the biggest chunk of overall public spending. The opposite is true for states with high teacher salaries.But as revenue is higher in these states, so is the educational expenditure.
Right now, there is no direct correlation between the school resources and student outcomes, although spending under a certain amount can result in poor outcomes and working with fewer resources may decrease efficiency. But the best part is that most of teachers do not pursue this career for making money, and that is why outcomes vary a lot across the United States regardless of educational expenditure.
