Average annual teacher salaries vary throughout the country, and teachers in these states and the District of Columbia are making more than the US average.
Using salary data from the National Center for Education Statistics, we found where average pay is highest for teachers in public elementary and secondary schools. We used 2018-2019 academic-year data, the most recent available. Teachers in 14 states and DC had a higher average annual salary than the US average of $61,730. Michigan teachers earned just above this nationwide average at $61,825.
School districts around the US, including those in these high-paying states, are figuring out what model to implement for a safe school-year amid the ongoing pandemic. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in early August that schools can reopen in New York, the state where teachers made the highest average annual salary in 2018-2019 out of all 50 states and DC. In Michigan, about 100 school districts plan to start their school year with remote learning, with some planning to have in-person classes after, according to reporting from Michigan news site MLive.com.
Maryland is another state where teachers earn more than the average annual salary for public school teachers, and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said last Thursday he is allowing schools to return to in-person schooling. Some schools in Maryland and DC have already started virtual classes, according to The Washington Post.
The following are the 14 states, plus the District of Columbia, where teachers earned the highest average annual salaries during the 2018-2019 academic year. We also included total amount spent per public-school student during the 2018 fiscal year in each state using data from the US Census Bureau.