Benefits April 8, 2002

Teachers Salaries Battle to Keep Pace

April 8, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Teachers' salaries barely kept pace with inflation in the 1990s, increasing by only 31% compared to the wages of full-time workers, which the Department of Labor (DoL) says increased by 40% on average.
Reported by

DoL figures show that elementary school teachers’ wages rose by about 38% between 1990 and 2000, while those of high school teachers rose nearly 33%. Teachers’ salaries now stand at $43,000 on average.

When inflation is worked into the equation, teachers’ salaries rose by a mere 0.5% on average over the decade, according to a report from the National Education Association (NEA), the US’s largest teachers union.

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State Stats

In some states, teachers’ compensation actually fell behind inflation.
According to figures from NEA, while 13 states paid the typical teacher $45,000 or more last year, average salaries in 25 states were still less than $40,000.

Over the 2000 to 2001 school year, the states paying the highest average nominal salaries were:

  • New Jersey, which pays $53,281 on average
  • Connecticut, which pays its teachers $52,693
  • California, where teachers’ salaries are $52,480.

Yet, when taking inflation into account, wages for teachers in Connecticut failed to keep pace with the cost of living, dropping by 7.8% in real terms.

Teachers’ salaries in Maryland and Alaska also lost ground to inflation, the wages there dropping by 8.2% and 15% in real terms respectively.

Those paying the lowest nominal wages to teachers were:

  • Mississippi, where teachers are paid $31,964
  • North Dakota, where they receive $30,891
  • South Dakota, which pays $30,265.

It’s Elementary

The report follows the National Association of Elementary School Principals recently released annual wage survey, which shows that, on average:

  • elementary school principals earn about $73,000
  • middle school principals earn $78,000
  • high school principals earn just under $84,000.

The principals’ survey relies on self-reported figures from 800 school systems.


 

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