Average Teacher Pay: How RI Ranks

School funding and teacher pay drove at least 177 teachers to run for election in recent midterm elections, and at least 42 of them won, mostly in statehouse races. Only two of those teachers ran in Rhode island, where the average teacher salary is one of the highest in the country.

In Rhode Island, the average salary was $66,758 in the 2017- 2018 school year, ranking 11th among U.S. states. Nationally, teachers were paid an average annual salary $60,483, according to the most recent data available from the National Education Association.

Rhode Island's numbers fared well even when taken in the context of earning power in the state. The $66,758 was 104.5 percent of the state's median household income, behind 10 other states.

Tell Us: Are teachers in Rhode Island paid enough? What would you like to tell Ocean State lawmakers about teacher salaries?

In general, teachers in K-12 public schools are paid about 30 percent less than comparably educated U.S. workers, according to the Brookings Institute. Globally, U.S. teacher salaries lag far behind, even when compared to Finland, known for its meager teacher salaries. The Brookings Institute said that to match salaries in Finland would require a 10 percent raise for elementary school teachers, an 18 percent raise for middle school teachers and a 28 percent raise for high school teachers.

While more teachers nationwide lost their elections than won, teachers still tout the impact their activism had on voters. Among those who won office was a high school social studies teacher in Oklahoma who joined his colleagues in a 10-day strike in April. The state’s average teacher pay is the third-lowest in the country, according to the NEA data.

“Today, let’s take back our state and our nation for the people — for working families, for kids, for students, and for teachers,” the teacher, John Waldron, wrote on Facebook hours before he was elected to Oklahoma’s state legislature. In office, he will become part of the Education Caucus, a group of bipartisan lawmakers with direct ties to education.

The Oklahoma Education Association said the caucus, which includes current and former teachers, support professionals and school administrators, grew from nine to 25 members in the midterm election.

“There are now more educators in the state legislature than ever before,” the association said in a statement. “No matter how you look at it, public education won.”

Waldron was among nearly 60 Oklahoma teachers who ran for public office in the midterm election. Of them, six won their races in the general election, according to Education Week.

Low pay and school funding cuts aren’t sitting well with America’s teachers.

West Virginia teachers were the first to walk out and strike for higher pay. State lawmakers approved and the governor signed a bill that would boost teacher pay 5 percent. In the 2017-2018 school year, West Virginia teachers earn an average of $45,642, according to data from the National Education Association, well below the national average.

Emboldened by the nearly two-week strike in West Virginia, teachers in Arizona, Oklahoma and Kentucky also swarmed statehouses demanding higher pay and more funding for public schools. Some Arizona teachers staged a sick-out in March to protest their salaries, which averaged $47,746 last year.

In Oklahoma, the average teacher salary was $45,678, just a bit higher than in West Virginia. Teachers went on strike in Oklahoma for nine days. Teachers also walked out to protest their pay in Kentucky, where the average teacher earned $52,952 last school year.

Iowa is one of the states expected to take up education funding and salaries in the upcoming session. Its Legislative Service Bureau put together the teacher salary comparisons, along with teacher pay as a percentage of household income in 2017. The report used data from the National Education Association, as well as the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 American Community Survey.

Here’s how the states ranked:

1. New York: $83,585
2. California: $81,126
3. Massachusetts: $79,710
4. District of Columbia: $76,486
5. Connecticut: $73,113
6. New Jersey: $69,917
7. Maryland: $69,761
8. Alaska: $69,474
9. Pennsylvania: $67,398
10. Illinois: $66,778
11. Rhode Island: $66,758
12. Oregon: $63,143
13. Michigan: $62,702
14. Delaware: $60,484
15. Wyoming: $58,578
16. Vermont: $58,572
17. Ohio: $58,000
18. New Hampshire: $57,833
19. Hawaii: $57,866
20. Nevada: $57,812
21. Minnesota: $57,782
22. Iowa: $56,790
23. Georgia: $56,329
24. Wisconsin: $55,895
25. Washington: $55,175
26. North Dakota: $54,421
27. Indiana: $54,846
28. Nebraska: $53,473
29. Texas: $53,167
30. Kentucky: $52,952
31. Montana: $52,776
32. Colorado: $52,389
33. Maine: $51,663
34. Virginia: $51,265
35. South Carolina, $51,027
36. Tennessee: $50,900
37. North Carolina: $50,861
38. Kansas: $50,403
39. Louisiana: $50,256
40. Alabama: $50,239
41. Idaho: $49,225
42. Missouri: $49,208
43. Arkansas: $49,017
44. South Dakota: $47,944
45. New Mexico: $47,839
46. Florida: $47,721
47. Arizona: $47,746
48. Utah: $47,604
49. Oklahoma: $45,678
50. West Virginia: $45,642
51. Mississippi: $43,107

Beth Dalbey of Patch’s national desk contributed to this report.

Photo via Shutterstock