With fall fast approaching, schools across the country and state are solidifying their reopening plans. Nationally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that median annual earnings for teachers is just over $59,000.
Teacher’s pay is lagging behind, according to the report, and the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t helping. According to data form the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median teacher pay of $59,000 falls between the median pay for associate’s degree holders and bachelor’s degree holders ($70,000).
To figure out the states with the largest teacher pay gap, Smartest Dollar, a review website for insurance and financial services, analyzed data from the Census Bureau, the BLS and the Bureau of Economic Analysis and ranked states based on the pay gap between teachers and full-time workers who have a bachelor’s degree.
In New Jersey, the median annual earning of $70,121 for teachers is 15.5% less than full-time bachelor’s degree holder’s earnings of $83,000. The cost of living in the state is 15.2% above average.
More New Jersey statistics:
- New Jersey was ranked No. 17 overall;
- Philaldephia-Camden-Wilmington was ranked No. 28 in the large metro areas category due to its teacher pay gap of -11.2%, its median annual earnings for teachers of $66,615, its median annual earnings for a full-time bachelor’s degree holder of $75,000, and the cost of living being 5.4% above average;
- New York-Newark-Jersey City was ranked No. 47 in the large metro areas category for its teacher pay gap of 0%, its median annual earnings for teachers of $81,999, its median annual earnings for bachelor’s degree holders of $82,000, and the cost of living being 24.1% above average;
- Trenton was ranked No. 10 in the midsize metro areas category with a 2.7% teacher pay gap, a $70,866 median teacher earnings, $90,000 median bachelor’s degree holder earnings, and the cost of living being 8.6% above average;
- Atlantic City was ranked No. 99 in the small metros category with a 14.4% pay gap, $74,368 annual teacher earnings, $65,000 annual bachelor’s degree holders earnings, and the cost of living being 0.3% above average.
For comparison, here’s statistics for the United States:
- Teacher pay gap: -15.7%;
- Median annual earnings for teachers: $59,019;
- Median annual earnings for all full-time bachelor’s degree holders: $70,000.
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