New York Among Best States for Teacher Pay, Income Growth
Are you better off teaching in New York than any other state?
Teacher burnout has steadily increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing schools across the country to reconsider teacher pay and education funding.
Some states are suffering worse than others, with schools in Michigan and Oregon dealing with massive strikes over salary increases and increasing workloads.
While teachers nationwide are say their jobs are more stressful than five years ago, some states are taking advantage of the situation by boosting pay and ushering in needed changes to attract more educators.
How Well Does New York Treat Its Teachers?
WalletHub looked into which states treat its teachers the best... and worst.
The personal finance website looked into 24 key indicators of friendliness to teachers, such as income, pupil-to-teacher ratio, safety and more.
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That said, I am very sorry for those who teach in New Hampshire, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Maine, or Nevada. Those states were put at the bottom of the list.
New York's New Bragging Rights
While some of our very close neighbors were left swimming in the bottom of this roundup, New York was a hair away from taking the crown.
The Empire State ranked the second-best state for teachers and actually led the nation in some critical categories.
For the metrics where New York did well, that would be a first place finish in existence of digital learning plans, public-school spending per student and average salary for teachers.
New York Loves Its Teachers... and Students
Aside from New York's heavy investment in its students, teachers here have higher salaries than the rest of the United States.
However, some naysayers can say New York City salaries could have inflated that number. According to Salary.com, teachers in the big apple make between $46,000 to $95,000 a year.
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That number falls between $38,000 and $78,000 for those teaching in Utica City's school system.
Despite this blip, WalletHub adjusted that finding to reflect the current cost of living.
It also should be noted when looking into how much money the state invests into its students, the study found New York's difference is 3-times greater than Idaho, which was the state that spent the least amount of money per student.
Other good indicators was a fifth place finish in income growth potential for teachers and a sixth place finish in ensuring an equitable teacher-to-student ratio.
Further down the list, New York was 13th in school system quality, 14th in average starting salary for teachers and 20th in 10-year change in teacher salaries.
Read More: Utica's First School Opened 226 Years Ago. Where Is It Now?
All in all, if you want to start your teaching career, set your sights on New York. The state will take care of you.
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