Livingston Schools Are Second Best In The State To Teach In: Here's Why

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Teaching has never been seen as a lucrative profession, but the early-morning start time (Livingston High School starts at 7:55 a.m.) and hours on one's feet are better compensated in some school districts than others.

The average starting salary around the country for teachers in 2020-21 was $41,770. In New Jersey, it's a bit higher, as the Garden State has among the highest costs of living in the U.S. It also consistently ranks among the nation's top states for education.

The average starting salary in New Jersey for teachers was $54,053 in the 2020-21 school year, according to the National Education Association.

And where are teachers paid the highest in New Jersey? It's in some of the districts often seen as the highest performing.

According to a list released this week by Niche.com — a company that provides information by ranking schools, districts and communities to live in — five of the top 25 districts in the state to teach are in Essex County. And the top 3 are all in Essex County.

The platform's methodology incorporates several factors, including a school district's overall Niche grade, resources and facilities, and student-teacher ratio.

But 30 percent of Niche's calculations include each district's average teacher salary and teacher salary index — the average teacher salary normalized by median household income by county.

The top 3 are:

1. Millburn Township School District, $87,061
2. Livingston Board of Education School District, $86,615
3. West Essex Regional School District, $83,593

Glen Ridge and West Orange also appear in the top 25, at 16 and 23 respectively.

Livingston Schools

The Livingston School District also recently appeared in the top 25 districts on a "best" school districts list released last month by Niche.com.

There are more than 400 public school districts in New Jersey.

On that Niche list last month, Millburn placed number 1 and Livingston placed 7th. Both districts also had their high schools place on a top-25 list of best high schools.

Those districts are also more expensive to live in, on average, than elsewhere in the state.

The New Jersey Education Association — the state's largest teacher's union — has pushed for a starting salary of at least $60,000 for educators in its "$60K The First Day" campaign.

READ MORE: Best NJ School Districts To Teach In, Average Salaries

This story features reporting by Patch editor Josh Bakan.