Research Summary. After extensive research by the Zippia data science team, we identified these details of teacher assistant salary by state for the United States:
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Rhode Island has the highest teacher assistant salary of $32,032
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South Carolina has the lowest teacher assistant salary of $20,665
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The national average salary for teacher assistants is $27,103
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The national hourly pay for teacher assistants is $13.03
You can read more on the specific methodology.
Background
Without fail, in surveys across basically every demographic, the number one most important aspect of a job for most people is the salary — how much do teacher assistants get paid where I live?
And while there are many things to go into how much you, specifically, can expect to make, there’s really good data for average salaries for teacher assistant by state across America broken down by seniority level. So while your city may be slightly different than the state average, these averages give you a rough sense of what to expect for your salary.
The state with the best salary for teacher assistants after this adjustment? That would be Rhode Island.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the top ten states for teacher assistant salaries:
Let’s take a look at how we got here and a full ranking of all the states.
Highest-Paid Teacher Assistants By State
| Rank | State | Average Teacher Assistant Salary | 10th Percentile | 90th Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhode Island | $32,032 | $25,000 | $40,000 |
| 2 | Maine | $30,922 | $25,000 | $38,000 |
| 3 | Washington | $30,882 | $23,000 | $39,000 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $30,818 | $24,000 | $38,000 |
| 5 | California | $29,753 | $23,000 | $37,000 |
| 6 | Vermont | $29,733 | $23,000 | $37,000 |
| 7 | Hawaii | $28,934 | $25,000 | $32,000 |
| 8 | Montana | $28,390 | $22,000 | $36,000 |
| 9 | New Hampshire | $28,347 | $22,000 | $35,000 |
| 10 | New York | $28,170 | $22,000 | $35,000 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $27,986 | $22,000 | $35,000 |
| 12 | Wyoming | $27,801 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 13 | Maryland | $27,787 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 14 | New Jersey | $27,633 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 15 | Illinois | $27,602 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 16 | North Dakota | $27,598 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 17 | Utah | $27,498 | $21,000 | $35,000 |
| 18 | Tennessee | $27,339 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 19 | Ohio | $27,039 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 20 | Mississippi | $26,886 | $21,000 | $33,000 |
| 21 | Minnesota | $26,866 | $21,000 | $34,000 |
| 22 | Colorado | $26,620 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 23 | Pennsylvania | $26,267 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 24 | West Virginia | $26,216 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 25 | Oregon | $25,928 | $20,000 | $33,000 |
| 26 | New Mexico | $25,693 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 27 | South Dakota | $25,666 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 28 | Arizona | $25,652 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 29 | Wisconsin | $25,648 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 30 | Alaska | $25,645 | $20,000 | $32,000 |
| 31 | Nevada | $25,127 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 32 | Delaware | $24,842 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 33 | Nebraska | $24,667 | $19,000 | $31,000 |
| 34 | Michigan | $24,220 | $18,000 | $30,000 |
| 35 | Texas | $24,112 | $19,000 | $30,000 |
| 36 | Arkansas | $24,016 | $19,000 | $30,000 |
| 37 | Florida | $23,839 | $19,000 | $29,000 |
| 38 | Alabama | $23,568 | $18,000 | $29,000 |
| 39 | North Carolina | $23,445 | $18,000 | $29,000 |
| 40 | Iowa | $23,331 | $18,000 | $29,000 |
| 41 | Idaho | $23,307 | $18,000 | $29,000 |
| 42 | Missouri | $23,262 | $18,000 | $29,000 |
| 43 | Louisiana | $23,094 | $18,000 | $28,000 |
| 44 | Oklahoma | $22,731 | $17,000 | $28,000 |
| 45 | Virginia | $22,636 | $17,000 | $28,000 |
| 46 | Kansas | $22,493 | $17,000 | $28,000 |
| 47 | Kentucky | $22,289 | $17,000 | $28,000 |
| 48 | Georgia | $21,751 | $17,000 | $27,000 |
| 49 | Indiana | $21,545 | $16,000 | $27,000 |
| 50 | South Carolina | $20,665 | $16,000 | $25,000 |
Methodology: Teacher Assistant Salary By State
To better understand teacher assistant pay by state, Zippia has aggregated data across a multitude of channels including the BLS, FLC, and OPM. We then supplement that data with actual listed salaries from job posts. Finally, the data science team calculates a weighted average of these inputs to create an average pay for teacher assistants by state.
We took the average annual salary data for teacher assistants from these estimates and ranked every state on this criteria with the state with the highest salary ranking as highest average salary for teacher assistants.
Teacher Assistant Salary By State FAQs
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What is the highest-paid state for teacher assistants?
The highest-paid state for teacher assistants is Rhode Island with an average salary of $32,032 per year.
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What city pays teacher assistants the most?
Coventry, RI pays teacher assistants the most with an average salary of $31,927 per year.
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What is the worst state for teacher assistants?
The worst state for teacher assistants is South Carolina with an average salary of $20,665 per year.
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.
