PA Teacher Salaries Among Top In Nation, But There Are Deep Inequities

PENNSYLVANIA — The average teacher's salary in Pennsylvania is $71,281, well over the national average and just outside of the top 10 nationwide, according to the most recent data made available by the National Center for Education Statistics.

The data, which covers the 2020-21 school year, shows that Pennsylvania teacher's salaries increased slightly from 2019-20, when they were at $70,339, and just over $10,000 from a decade ago, when that number sat around $59,000.

It's not yet clear how these averages might be impacted by inflation, or the continously shifting post-pandemic educational landscape that has seen massive teacher shortages in Pennsylvania and nationwide.

Pennsylvania has the 11th highest average salary rate. Despite the high ranking, there is much inequity, with some of the state's highest paying districts averaging significantly higher, and hundreds of other districts averaging lower.

Lower Merion School District in Montgomery County, for example, sits within one of the state's wealthiest zip codes. The average teacher's salary there is $117,000. But the state teacher's union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, says that 199 school districts statewide have teachers earning an average of less than $45,000. The union says that accounts for some 2,660 positions.

Many of them are highly qualified, as 24 percent have master's degrees and 15 percent have more than 6 years experience.

There are gender inequalities, too, as 77 percent of those underpaid teachers are women, PSEA notes.

Here's where Pennsylvania stands compared to the rest of the nation:

1. New York: $87,738
2. Massachussetts: $86,315
3. California: $85,892
4. District of Columbia: $80,659
5. Connecticut: $79,742
6. Washington: $79,529
7. New Jersey: $77,489
8. Rhode Island: $75,966
9. Maryland: $74,514
10. Alaska: $72,861
11. Pennsylvania: $71,281

A recent study by Penn State showed that teacher shortages continue to be "severe" in Pennsylvania in 2022 heading into 2023. Some 6,000 teaching positions statewide were filled by emergency staff this year, compared to under 900 of such fillings a decade ago.