Find a Job You Really Want In
Teachers are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as teachers in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since teachers are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where teachers have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for teachers.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s teachers:
So there you have it — Secondary School Teachers, Except Special And Career/technical Education is the best of the best when it comes to being a teacher.
How did Secondary School Teachers, Except Special And Career/technical Education end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for teachers and for more on the top ten states.
If youÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- These Are The 10 Best Cities For Teachers
- Teachers Are Paid Less to Commute
- These Are The 15 Best Teacher Conferences In America
How we determined the best states to be a teacher
Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:
- Availability of jobs
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for teachers in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well teachers get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2018:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for teachers in California is $80,510 and the average salary in Illinois is $72,370, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for teachers in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for teachers.
1. Ohio
Total Jobs: 52,240
Average Annual Salary: $61,930
Average Entry Level Salary: $39,570
Average Experienced Salary: $84,340
Location Quotient: 1.33
2. Texas
Total Jobs: 110,420
Average Annual Salary: $58,190
Average Entry Level Salary: $42,670
Average Experienced Salary: $76,970
Location Quotient: 1.25
3. Illinois
Total Jobs: 43,720
Average Annual Salary: $72,370
Average Entry Level Salary: $40,330
Average Experienced Salary: $115,490
Location Quotient: 1.0
4. Pennsylvania
Total Jobs: 50,460
Average Annual Salary: $64,830
Average Entry Level Salary: $41,340
Average Experienced Salary: $94,730
Location Quotient: 1.19
5. Virginia
Total Jobs: 26,830
Average Annual Salary: $68,770
Average Entry Level Salary: $42,550
Average Experienced Salary: $104,270
Location Quotient: 0.96
6. Nebraska
Total Jobs: 7,880
Average Annual Salary: $57,500
Average Entry Level Salary: $40,320
Average Experienced Salary: $77,980
Location Quotient: 1.11
7. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 1,850
Average Annual Salary: $60,620
Average Entry Level Salary: $45,130
Average Experienced Salary: $78,010
Location Quotient: 0.94
8. Michigan
Total Jobs: 24,130
Average Annual Salary: $62,950
Average Entry Level Salary: $38,660
Average Experienced Salary: $92,000
Location Quotient: 0.77
9. Minnesota
Total Jobs: 20,940
Average Annual Salary: $64,610
Average Entry Level Salary: $40,440
Average Experienced Salary: $95,820
Location Quotient: 1.01
10. Missouri
Total Jobs: 27,930
Average Annual Salary: $54,280
Average Entry Level Salary: $33,190
Average Experienced Salary: $85,350
Location Quotient: 1.37
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Teacher
If you’re looking to start out your career as a teacher these are the states that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.
If you’re curious, here are the worst states to be a teacher in America:
For more reading, check out:
- The 10 Most Exciting Jobs of Former Teachers
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Cincinnati
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Cleveland
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Columbus
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Ohio
- These Are The 30 Best Things About Being A Teacher. Hands Down.
- These Are The 10 Places In Tennessee Teachers Canât Afford To Live
- These Are The 10 Cities With The Highest Demand For Teachers
- These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Ohio
- These Are The 10 Cities With The Highest Teacher Salaries
Detailed List Of The Best States For teachers
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio | $61,930 |
| 2 | Texas | $58,190 |
| 3 | Illinois | $72,370 |
| 4 | Pennsylvania | $64,830 |
| 5 | Virginia | $68,770 |
| 6 | Nebraska | $57,500 |
| 7 | Wyoming | $60,620 |
| 8 | Michigan | $62,950 |
| 9 | Minnesota | $64,610 |
| 10 | Missouri | $54,280 |
| 11 | Iowa | $56,510 |
| 12 | New York | $85,300 |
| 13 | New Jersey | $76,390 |
| 14 | Delaware | $65,040 |
| 15 | Arkansas | $51,780 |
| 16 | Connecticut | $76,980 |
| 17 | Kentucky | $56,200 |
| 18 | Washington | $67,550 |
| 19 | Utah | $59,070 |
| 20 | Georgia | $58,050 |
| 21 | Alaska | $77,920 |
| 22 | Tennessee | $53,620 |
| 23 | Wisconsin | $58,360 |
| 24 | New Mexico | $55,380 |
| 25 | Massachusetts | $80,020 |
| 26 | Kansas | $51,490 |
| 27 | Rhode Island | $71,440 |
| 28 | Alabama | $51,180 |
| 29 | Oregon | $72,640 |
| 30 | Indiana | $53,030 |
| 31 | Louisiana | $51,810 |
| 32 | Mississippi | $47,190 |
| 33 | California | $80,510 |
| 34 | Idaho | $51,170 |
| 35 | Maryland | $72,610 |
| 36 | North Dakota | $55,400 |
| 37 | South Carolina | $54,400 |
| 38 | New Hampshire | $61,510 |
| 39 | Nevada | $57,910 |
| 40 | Florida | $54,120 |
| 41 | Maine | $54,240 |
| 42 | Montana | $50,670 |
| 43 | Vermont | $65,850 |
| 44 | Colorado | $55,110 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | $42,540 |
| 46 | South Dakota | $42,960 |
| 47 | North Carolina | $47,580 |
| 48 | West Virginia | $47,050 |
| 49 | Arizona | $48,610 |
| 50 | Hawaii | $60,810 |
Author
Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.
