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Overview • Read the report
Summary: Teachers are paid less (in weekly wages and total compensation) than their nonteacher college-educated counterparts, and the situation has worsened considerably over time. The latest data show the teacher pay penalty to be worse than ever, with teachers making an average of 23.5% less than their peers, after adjusting for other professional qualifications and demographics.
Key findings
- Inflation-adjusted average weekly wages of teachers have been relatively flat since 1996. The average weekly wages of public school teachers (adjusted only for inflation) increased just $29 from 1996 to 2021, from $1,319 to $1,348 (in 2021 dollars). In contrast, inflation-adjusted weekly wages of other college graduates rose from $1,564 to $2,009 over the same period—a $445 increase.
- The relative teacher wage penalty grew to a record high in 2021. It was 23.5% in 2021, up from 6.1% in 1996. The penalty for men rose from 15.1% to 35.2% over that period. Women had a negligible wage penalty of 0.1% in 1996 but faced a wage penalty of 17.1% in 2021.
- The benefits advantage for teachers has not been enough to offset the growing wage penalty. The teacher total compensation penalty was 14.2% in 2021 (a 23.5% wage penalty offset by a 9.3% benefits advantage). The bottom line is that the teacher total compensation penalty grew by 11.5 percentage points from 1993 to 2021.
- The relative teacher wage penalty exceeds 20% in 28 states. Teacher weekly wage penalties estimated for each state range from 3.4% in Rhode Island to 35.9% in Colorado. In 28 states, teachers are paid less than 80 cents on the dollar earned by similar college-educated workers in those states.
Why this matters
Teachers are paid less (in weekly wages and total compensation) than their nonteacher college-educated counterparts, and the situation has worsened considerably over time. The latest data show the teacher pay penalty to be worse than ever, with teachers making an average of 23.5% less than their peers, after adjusting for other professional qualifications and demographics.
How to fix it
Teachers are paid less (in weekly wages and total compensation) than their nonteacher college-educated counterparts, and the situation has worsened considerably over time. The latest data show the teacher pay penalty to be worse than ever, with teachers making an average of 23.5% less than their peers, after adjusting for other professional qualifications and demographics.
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Explainer
Key data
How underpaid are teachers in your state?
| State | Teacher weekly pay penalty |
|---|---|
| Colorado | -35.9% |
| Oklahoma | -32.8% |
| Virginia | -32.7% |
| Arizona | -32.0% |
| Alabama | -30.6% |
| Oregon | -29.4% |
| Washington | -29.1% |
| Missouri | -28.3% |
| Louisiana | -27.8% |
| New Mexico | -27.4% |
| Georgia | -26.8% |
| Minnesota | -25.9% |
| Idaho | -25.2% |
| Kentucky | -24.7% |
| North Carolina | -24.5% |
| Maine | -24.0% |
| Tennessee | -23.8% |
| Illinois | -23.4% |
| Kansas | -22.6% |
| Utah | -22.5% |
| Wisconsin | -22.2% |
| Texas | -21.5% |
| Indiana | -21.4% |
| Nebraska | -20.7% |
| Arkansas | -20.5% |
| Massachusetts | -20.5% |
| Nevada | -20.4% |
| Maryland | -20.3% |
| New Hampshire | -19.9% |
| Florida | -19.6% |
| West Virginia | -19.2% |
| District of Columbia | -19.0% |
| Michigan | -18.4% |
| South Dakota | -17.9% |
| North Dakota | -17.8% |
| California | -17.6% |
| Connecticut | -17.1% |
| Montana | -17.0% |
| Iowa | -16.3% |
| Hawaii | -15.5% |
| Pennsylvania | -15.2% |
| Alaska | -14.9% |
| Mississippi | -14.7% |
| Ohio | -14.4% |
| Vermont | -13.6% |
| New York | -13.2% |
| Delaware | -10.9% |
| South Carolina | -8.3% |
| New Jersey | -4.5% |
| Wyoming | -4.0% |
| Rhode Island | -3.4% |
Figure reports state-specific regression-adjusted teacher weekly wage penalties: how much less, in percentage terms, public school teachers (elementary, middle, and secondary) earn in weekly wages relative to their college-educated, nonteaching peers. College-educated workers refers to workers who have a bachelor’s degree or more education. The dependent variable is (log) weekly wages with indicator controls on public school teacher, public school teacher interacted with each state (relevant estimate), private school teacher, gender, and married, along with indicator sets on education (M.A., professional degree, Ph.D.) and race/ethnicity (Black, Hispanic, other); also included are age as a quartic, state fixed effects. See Allegretto and Mishel 2019, Appendix A, for more details on data and methodology.
Key numbers
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