America runs on teachers. In 2017, there were some 3.6 million full-time teachers in U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. 3.2 million of them were public school teachers, serving local communities across the country.
According to the NCES, the average salary for a U.S. public school teacher in the 2016-2017 school year was $58,950, 2% lower than the average salary in the 1990-1991 school year when adjusted for inflation.
Stagnant wages may be the reason why fewer college students have chosen to major in education. But teachers are more necessary than ever. NCES predicts there will be over 50 million students in public schools by 2025.
Few teachers chose education as a career path because it’s lucrative — but there are some states where becoming a new teacher may be more profitable than others.
Learn how one teacher budgets their money.
According to the National Education Association, a national professional organization for teachers, the average starting salary for public school teachers in the 2017-2018 school year was $39,249, but this varied widely by location. In the District of Columbia, new teachers made an average starting salary of $55,209, the highest in the country, while in Montana they made $31,418, the lowest.
Here’s how much new teachers made on average in every state.
Alabama
Average starting teacher salary: $38,491
Alaska
Average starting teacher salary: $46,954
Arizona
Average starting teacher salary: $34,473
Arkansas
Average starting teacher salary: $33,323
California
Average starting teacher salary: $46,992
Colorado
Average starting teacher salary: $33,483
Connecticut
Average starting teacher salary: $45,922
Delaware
Average starting teacher salary: $41,639
District of Columbia
Average starting teacher salary: $55,209
Florida
Average starting teacher salary: $37,636
Georgia
Average starting teacher salary: $35,474
Hawaii
Average starting teacher salary: $46,790
Idaho
Average starting teacher salary: $34,801
Illinois
Average starting teacher salary: $39,236
Indiana
Average starting teacher salary: $35,943
Iowa
Average starting teacher salary: $37,048
Kansas
Average starting teacher salary: $35,769
Kentucky
Average starting teacher salary: $36,752
Louisiana
Average starting teacher salary: $40,303
Maine
Average starting teacher salary: $34,788
Maryland
Average starting teacher salary: $45,147
Massachusetts
Average starting teacher salary: $45,498
Michigan
Average starting teacher salary: $36,599
Minnesota
Average starting teacher salary: $38,529
Mississippi
Average starting teacher salary: $34,784
Missouri
Average starting teacher salary: $32,226
Montana
Average starting teacher salary: $31,418
Nebraska
Average starting teacher salary: $34,465
Nevada
Average starting teacher salary: $39,054
New Hampshire
Average starting teacher salary: $37,395
New Jersey
Average starting teacher salary: $51,443
New Mexico
Average starting teacher salary: $36,405
New York
Average starting teacher salary: $45,589
North Carolina
Average starting teacher salary: $37,631
North Dakota
Average starting teacher salary: $38,611
Ohio
Average starting teacher salary: $35,923
Oklahoma
Average starting teacher salary: $32,010
Oregon
Average starting teacher salary: $36,319
Pennsylvania
Average starting teacher salary: $44,647
Rhode Island
Average starting teacher salary: $41,689
South Carolina
Average starting teacher salary: $33,148
South Dakota
Average starting teacher salary: $38,098
Tennessee
Average starting teacher salary: $37,305
Texas
Average starting teacher salary: $41,481
Utah
Average starting teacher salary: $38,499
Vermont
Average starting teacher salary: $38,499
Virginia
Average starting teacher salary: $40,453
Washington
Average starting teacher salary: $42,240
West Virginia
Average starting teacher salary: $33,715
Wisconsin
Average starting teacher salary: $38,181
Wyoming
Average starting teacher salary: $45,241
While teachers have a tough salary to budget on, there are a host of freebies available to them. Here are 50.
Image: Phillipe Giraud
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