States with the largest teacher pay gap; Washington state is No. 6

In recent months, teachers in multiple states, including West Virginia, Kentucky, Arizona, and Colorado, have gone on strike to protest low wages and insufficient resources in public schools. With many states cutting school funding, teachers are experiencing economic pressure inside and outside of the classroom and are voicing their need for change.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average annual salary of teachers in U.S. public elementary and secondary schools is $58,950. Although teachers’ salaries have risen nominally over the past 50 years, when analyzed in “constant dollars” based on the consumer price index, salaries have actually been decreasing since 2009. For comparison, the average annual earnings for workers over the age of 18 who hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in the U.S. is $77,526, resulting in a national teacher pay gap of -24%.

With this in mind, Credit Sesame wanted to see how the pay gap varied from state to state. Its researchers calculated the Teacher pay gap as the percent difference between the Average annual salary for teachers in each state (taken from the National Education Association, Estimates of School Statistics, 2016-17) and the Average annual earnings for all college graduates (calculated for each state using the U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey 1-year Public Use Microdata Samples). Then each state and the District of Columbia was ranked from the highest teacher pay gap to the lowest.

Based on the analysis, the teacher pay gap is in the teachers’ favor in only two states: Vermont and Alaska. The states with the highest teacher salaries are in the populous, heavily urban states of New York, California, Massachusetts, District of Columbia, and Connecticut, while the states with the lowest teacher salaries are in the mostly rural states of Colorado, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and South Dakota. States with lowest teacher salaries also tended to have higher teacher pay gaps.

Here are the states with the largest teacher pay gap:


Photo Credit: Charles Knowles / Alamy Stock Photo

25. Idaho




    Photo Credit: William Scott / Alamy Stock Photo

    24. New Mexico




      Photo Credit: Steven Frame / Alamy Stock Photo

      23. Kentucky




        Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

        22. West Virginia




          Photo Credit: Tetra Images / Alamy Stock Photo

          21. New Jersey




            Photo Credit: Enigma / Alamy Stock Photo

            20. Connecticut




              Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

              19. Arkansas




                Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

                18. Louisiana




                  Photo Credit: Jeff Zehnder / Alamy Stock Photo

                  17. Kansas




                    Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

                    16. South Carolina




                      Photo Credit: Image Source / Alamy Stock Photo

                      15. Missouri




                        Photo Credit: Zoonar GmbH / Alamy Stock Photo

                        14. Georgia




                          Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

                          13. Alabama




                            Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

                            12. Mississippi




                              Photo Credit: Tom Grundy / Alamy Stock Photo

                              11. South Dakota




                                Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

                                10. North Carolina




                                  Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

                                  9. Tennessee




                                    Photo Credit: age fotostock / Alamy Stock Photo

                                    8. Utah




                                      Photo Credit: Dave Newman / Alamy Stock Photo

                                      7. Oklahoma




                                        Photo Credit: Richard Theis / Alamy Stock Photo

                                        6. Washington




                                          Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

                                          5. Florida




                                            Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

                                            4. Texas




                                              Photo Credit: Andrew Zarivny / Alamy Stock Photo

                                              3. Arizona




                                                Photo Credit: Joe Ferrer / Alamy Stock Photo

                                                2. Colorado




                                                  Photo Credit: Sean Pavone / Alamy Stock Photo

                                                  1. Virginia



                                                    Methodology & full results


                                                    Teacher salary and salary change statistics are from the National Education Association, Estimates of School Statistics, 2016-17. Both are in constant 2016-2017 dollars. Average annual earnings for all college graduates was computed for each state using the U.S. Census Bureau, 2016 American Community Survey 1-year Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS). Only adults over age 18 with a bachelor’s degree or higher were included in the analysis. The Teacher pay gap was calculated as the percent difference between the Average annual salary for teachers and the Average annual earnings for all college graduates.