By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
The National Education Association (NEA), the country’s largest labor union, recently revealed that the average teacher earns $69,544 each year. If you’re just starting out in the profession, that number drops to $44,530. But, inflation is outpacing these salaries, according to the union, putting a strain on the pockets of teachers across the nation, regardless of years served.
“Even with record-level increases in some states, average teacher pay has failed to keep up with inflation over the past decade,” wrote the NEA in its 2024 Educator Pay in America report. “Adjusted for inflation, on average, teachers are making 5 percent less than they did 10 years ago.”
The report comes as the U.S. battles a national teacher shortage, which was intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. In its analysis, the NEA asserts that there is considerable work to be done in reducing the teacher pay penalty, a term used to describe the wage gap between educators and professionals with similar levels of education.
“Chronic low play is plaguing the profession,” wrote the NEA. “A staggering 77 percent of U.S. school districts still pay a starting salary below $50,000— 28.6 percent start out teachers at less than $40,000—while teacher salaries top out over $100,000 in only 16.6 percent of districts.”
California, New York and Massachusetts offer the highest salaries, on average, to public school teachers at $95,160, $92,696 and $92,307 respectively. Meanwhile, Florida, West Virginia and South Dakota maintain the lowest salaries, doling out $52,870, $53,098 and $53,153 respectively.
These figures come at little surprise, as top-earning teachers also live in some of the most expensive states, while bottom earners live in states with relatively low costs of living.
Coppin State University (CSU) School of Business Dean Sadie Gregory said it’s critical for people to account for cost of living when assessing salaries.
“You want your income to be above the cost of living,” said Gregory. “Whatever region you go to get a job, you want to make sure you don’t just look at the paycheck but at how much the paycheck will buy you.”
Cost of living encompasses essential expenses, like food, clothing, housing, healthcare and childcare according to Gregory. She said states on the West coast and in the Northeast, as well as Alaska and Hawaii, tend to have higher costs of living than those in the South.
The NEA provided corresponding minimum living wages as part of its report. They represented the income necessary for one parent and one child to attain a modest standard of living in states’ most affordable metropolitan areas.
This measure is somewhat limited though, as cost of living can be vastly different depending on the given metropolitan area. In California, the NEA estimated that the minimum living salary is $68,182, nearly $27,000 less than the average teacher salary for the state.
But, for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area, the Economic Policy Institute approximates that the annual living costs for one adult and one child total $96,117, just shy of $1,000 more than teachers’ average earnings.
In some states, the cost of living exceeds what teachers are taking home. In fact, all of the bottom-earning states have average teacher salaries that fall short of the minimum living wage, according to the NEA’s estimates. South Dakota’s shortfall is the starkest of the bunch with more than a $9,000 gap.
Across the country, Hawaii fairs the worst with an average teacher salary of $70,947 compared to a $100,150 minimum living wage.
If a teacher, or anyone, finds themselves in a position where their cost of living outstrips their income, Gregory said their quality of life will decline.
“If you’re barely able to cover the cost of living and you’re living paycheck to paycheck that means no savings, no vacation, no money for your kid’s tuition and no opportunities to do something extra special,” said Gregory.
Megan Sayles is a Report for America corps member.
