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Visualized: Where School Teachers Earn the Most in America
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Key Takeaways
- Teacher salaries are highest in coastal states like New York, Washington, and California, reflecting higher living costs and strong unions.
- Southern and Midwestern states like Mississippi, West Virginia, and Missouri tend to have the lowest teacher salaries, often 20–30% below the U.S. average.
Across the U.S., teacher pay varies significantly from state to state. Primary school teachers, for example, range from under $50,000 to over $80,000 annually depending on where they work.
To gain insight into how teacher compensation differs across the country, we visualized the average salaries for both primary and upper secondary educators.
Data & Discussion
The data for this visualization comes from the OECD’s Education at a Glance 2025 report. It compares teacher salaries by state, distinguishing between primary and upper secondary levels.
The U.S. national average salary for primary teachers is roughly $62,000, rising to over $66,000 for upper secondary educators.
| State | Primary | Upper Secondary |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $85,870 | $94,842 |
| Washington | $85,789 | $90,527 |
| California | $85,693 | $89,465 |
| Rhode Island | $84,998 | $85,727 |
| Connecticut | $81,327 | $91,069 |
| Massachusetts | $81,095 | $84,652 |
| District of Columbia | $80,364 | $90,078 |
| Alaska | $78,208 | $82,685 |
| Maryland | $74,794 | $69,380 |
| New Jersey | $74,628 | $92,172 |
| Pennsylvania | $73,453 | $79,926 |
| Delaware | $73,166 | $76,757 |
| Ohio | $68,592 | $73,004 |
| Vermont | $67,643 | $66,763 |
| Minnesota | $67,218 | $72,430 |
| Michigan | $66,495 | $69,648 |
| Illinois | $65,333 | $75,568 |
| Hawaii | $64,246 | $64,131 |
| Oregon | $64,070 | $71,685 |
| New Hampshire | $61,952 | $65,968 |
| Georgia | $61,278 | $68,142 |
| Texas | $60,017 | $62,135 |
| Wyoming | $59,933 | $66,330 |
| Utah | $59,843 | $64,165 |
| Iowa | $59,751 | $61,719 |
| Maine | $58,409 | $64,309 |
| Wisconsin | $57,793 | $64,298 |
| Nevada | $57,757 | $61,340 |
| Virginia | $57,409 | $59,145 |
| New Mexico | $56,905 | $63,373 |
| North Dakota | $56,119 | $62,452 |
| Colorado | $55,423 | $63,747 |
| Alabama | $55,386 | $58,549 |
| Kentucky | $54,639 | $59,052 |
| Arizona | $54,182 | $57,125 |
| Nebraska | $53,465 | $49,263 |
| Indiana | $52,998 | $61,627 |
| Tennessee | $52,982 | $54,414 |
| Montana | $52,886 | $54,318 |
| Florida | $52,512 | $55,721 |
| Kansas | $52,180 | $58,678 |
| Louisiana | $51,439 | $52,064 |
| South Carolina | $51,112 | $55,724 |
| Idaho | $50,973 | $57,053 |
| Arkansas | $50,368 | $54,600 |
| North Carolina | $50,347 | $55,228 |
| South Dakota | $49,927 | $53,296 |
| Oklahoma | $49,054 | $50,993 |
| West Virginia | $48,227 | $51,278 |
| Missouri | $48,211 | $54,984 |
| Mississippi | $47,154 | $51,457 |
| U.S. Average | $62,089 | $66,438 |
Top-Earning States for Teachers
Teachers in states like New York, Washington, and California earn well above the national average.
These high salaries are likely a reflection of both higher living costs and strong teachers’ unions that negotiate contracts. For example, the California Teachers Association recently launched a coordinated campaign involving 77,000 educators across 32 school districts to push for improved wages, benefits, and staffing.
Northeastern states such as Rhode Island and Connecticut also perform well, with average upper secondary salaries exceeding $90,000 in some cases.
High pay in these regions often offsets elevated housing and living expenses, but can remain a draw for experienced educators.
Lowest-Earning States for Teachers
Southern states face the largest salary gaps according to this dataset.
Mississippi, West Virginia, and Missouri report some of the lowest averages, with primary teacher pay hovering around $48,000–$50,000. These figures sit roughly 25% below the national average, contributing to persistent teacher shortages and high turnover rates.
Teacher shortages, high turnover rates and declining interest in the teaching profession have proven difficult for policymakers to address. These concerns are even more dire in Southern states.
Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)
Despite efforts to boost pay through legislative increases, many Southern educators continue to earn less than their peers in other parts of the country.
Analysis by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) found that between 2017 to 2023, the average teachers’ salary in Kentucky and Tennessee had actually decreased after adjusting for inflation.
Learn More on the Voronoi App
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