Curriculum A National Roundup

AFT Salary Survey Finds Teacher Pay Below Inflation Rate

By Bess Keller — October 11, 2005 1 min read
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More information on the “2004 Survey & Analysis of Teacher Salary Trends” is available from the American Federation of Teachers.

The average increase in teacher pay slipped below the rate of inflation in 2003-04, the latest year for which data are available, the American Federation of Teachers said last week in releasing its annual salary survey.

The average U.S. teacher salary in the 2003-04 school year was $46,597, a 2.2 percent increase from the year before, according to the report. The rate of inflation for 2004 was 2.7 percent.

Over the 10 years ending in 2003-04, the report concludes, teachers’ salaries increased much more slowly than pay for other professionals. Teacher pay went up just more than 2 percent after inflation during that period, while compensation measured in the same way for other professionals grew between 5 percent and 14.4 percent, the report says.

Among the states, Connecticut posted the highest average teacher salary, at $56,516, while South Dakota had the lowest, at $33,236.

A version of this article appeared in the October 12, 2005 edition of Education Week

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