While teachers’ salaries are at an all-time high, averaging $29,626 annually, they are only slightly ahead of where they stood in 1972, according to the annual salary survey of the American Federation of Teachers. Its latest report shows that in 1989 dollars, teachers are earning just $700 more today than they did 17 years ago, an average real increase of just $41 a year. During the 1970’s, teachers were pummeled by inflation, says Jewell Gould, director of research for the union. And despite a “fairly remarkable” rebound in the 1980’s—average teacher salaries have jumped 69 percent, from $17,544 to $29,629 over the decade—teachers are still playing catch-up. Although teachers received average increases of 5.5 percent during each of the past three years, last year’s increase was only half a percentage point higher than the Consumer Price Index; the year before, the average increase in teachers’ pay exceeded the CPI by one percentage point.
10 Highest Average Starting Salaries for 1988-89
1. Alaska ($27,310)
2. Calif. ($23,922)
3. N.Y. ($23,000)
4. Hawaii ($22,298)
5. Conn. ($22,276)
6. D.C. ($21,357)
7. N.J. ($21,250)
8. Md. ($20,756)
9. Fla. ($20,450)
10. Minn. ($20,152)
U.S. Average: $19,958
Source For All Data: AFT Survey & Analysis of Salary Trends, 1989
Average Teacher Salaries By Rank, 1988-89
1. Alaska ($41,832)
2. Conn. ($37,659)
3. D.C. ($36,787)
4. N.Y. ($36,654)
5. Mich. ($35,530)
6. Calif. ($35,172)
7. R.I. ($34,234)
8. Md. ($33,900)
9. N.J. ($32,862)
10. Mass. ($32,200)
11. Del. ($31,585)
12. Hawaii ($31,307)
13. Pa. ($31,248)
14. Ill. ($31,195)
15. Wis. ($31,046)
16. Minn. ($30,660)
17. Colo. ($29,557)
18. Ore. ($29,385)
19. Ind. ($29,169)
20. Ohio ($29,166)
21. Wash. ($29,146)
22. Va. ($29,056)
23. Nev. ($28,836)
24. Ariz. ($28,499)
25. Wyo. ($27,689)
26. Fla. ($26,937)
27. Ga. ($26,920)
28. Vt. ($26,819)
29. N.H. ($26,703)
30. Tex. ($26,513)
31. Kan. ($25,992)
32. Mo. ($25,981)
33. Iowa ($25,884)
34. N.C. ($25,650)
35. Tenn. ($25,619)
36. Ala. ($25,190)
37. S.C. ($25,060)
38. Me. ($24,938)
39. Ky. ($24,920)
40. N.M. ($24,554)
41. Mont. ($24,421)
42. Neb. ($23,845)
43. Okla. ($23,400)
44. Utah ($23,023)
45. Idaho ($22,732)
46. Miss. ($22,579)
47. La. ($22,469)
48. N.D. ($22,249)
49. W.Va. ($21,904)
50. Ark. ($21,736)
51. S.D. ($20,525)
U.S. Average: $29,614
Adjusted for State Cost of Living (Rank)
1. Alaska ($34,010) (2)
2. Conn. ($29,947) (16)
3. D.C. ($28,341) (23)
4. N.Y. ($32,369) (5)
5. Mich. ($37,247) (1)
6. Calif. ($33,220) (3)
7. R.I. ($32,067) (7)
8. Md. ($30,609) (12)
9. N.J. ($26,121) (39)
10. Mass. ($26,430) (37)
11. Del. ($30,595) (13)
12. Hawaii ($24,651) (46)
13. Pa. ($30,835) (11)
14. Ill. ($32,038) (8)
15. Wis. ($32,530) (4)
16. Minn. ($32,080) (6)
17. Colo. ($29,612) (19)
18. Ore. ($31,186) (10)
19. Ind. ($31,396) (9)
20. Ohio ($30,441) (14)
21. Wash. ($30,062) (15)
22. Va. ($29,930) (17)
23. Nev. ($29,406) (20)
24. Ariz. ($28,272) (25)
25. Wyo. ($29,650) (18)
26. Fla. ($27,671) (28)
27. Ga. ($28,605) (21)
28. Vt. ($28,565) (22)
29. N.H. ($24,753) (45)
30. Tex. ($28,168) (26)
31. Kan. ($28,330) (24)
32. Mo. ($27,974) (27)
33. Iowa ($27,662) (29)
34. N.C. ($27,410) (32)
35. Tenn. ($27,530) (30)
36. Ala. ($27,420) (31)
37. S.C. ($27,063) (34)
38. Me. ($27,116) (33)
39. Ky. ($27,053) (35)
40. N.M. ($26,416) (38)
41. Mont. ($26,793) (36)
42. Neb. ($25,659) (40)
43. Okla. ($25,304) (41)
44. Utah ($24,779) (44)
45. Idaho ($24,903) (43)
46. Miss. ($25,000) (42)
47. La. ($24,063) (48)
48. N.D. ($24,138) (47)
49. W.Va. ($23,831) (50)
50. Ark. ($23,901) (49)
51. S.D. ($22,408) (51)
