Teacher pay
rises to $39,404,
second-highest in Southeast
North
Carolina has largely achieved its goal of raising salaries of
school teachers to the national average, according to a new
survey by the American Federation of Teachers which puts the
state in 23rd place nationally, up from 26th place last year.
The average teacher salary in North Carolina now averages
$39,404 compared to the national average of $41,820. See chart
at right.
The achievement comes four years after the General Assembly
passed the Excellent Schools Act, which produced annual pay
increases that averaged 6.8 percent a year for the past four
years. When the effort began under the leadership of former
Gov. Jim Hunt, North Carolina ranked 46th nationally in
teacher pay. Since then the state has jumped to 23rd and
average teacher salaries have risen by nearly $9,000.
North Carolina now pays teachers the second-highest average
salaries in the Southeast, after Georgia. The figures are for
the 1999-2000 year, the latest for which figures from all the
states are available.
The AFT survey determined that teacher salaries in North
Carolina soared by 18.9 percent from 1997-98 to 1999-00, the
largest percentage increase in pay of any state in that
period.
Just considering the average salaries of beginning teachers,
North Carolina ranks 19th in the nation, at $27,968. That 11.7
percent from the 1997-98 year was the second-largest in the
nation, the AFT said.
The $41,820 average teacher salary continued to lag behind the
average annual wages of other white-collar occupations. An
attorney earned an average of $77,150; an engineer, $72,427; a
computer systems analyst, $66,849; a buyer/contract
specialist, $57,035; and an accountant, $52,323, the AFT said.
Return to Page One
|
| State |
Total
Teachers |
Average
Salary |
%
of
U.S. Avg. |
| 1.
Connecticut |
39,918 |
$52,410 |
125.3% |
| 2.
New York |
206,000 |
51,020 |
122.0% |
| 3.
New Jersey |
95,223 |
50,878 |
121.7% |
| 4.
Michigan |
93,100 |
48,729 |
116.5% |
| 5.
Pennsylvania |
111,250 |
48,321 |
115.5% |
| 6.
D.C. |
5,192 |
48,304 |
115.5% |
| 7.
Rhode Island |
11,235 |
48,138 |
115.1% |
| 8.
California |
292,455 |
47,680 |
114.0% |
| 9.
Massachusetts |
71,922 |
46,955 |
112.3% |
| 10.
Alaska |
7,992 |
46,481 |
111.1% |
| 11.
Illinois |
127,216 |
46,480 |
111.1% |
| 12.
Oregon |
30,086 |
45,103 |
107.8% |
| 13.
Delaware |
7,311 |
44,435 |
106.3% |
| 14.
Maryland |
50,801 |
43,720 |
104.5% |
| 15.
Nevada |
17,486 |
43,083 |
103.0% |
| 16.
Indiana |
58,843 |
41,855 |
100.1% |
| 17.
Ohio |
114,600 |
41,713 |
99.7% |
| 18.
Hawaii |
10,510 |
41,292 |
98.7% |
| 19.
Georgia |
90,286 |
41,122 |
98.3% |
| 20.
Washington |
50,009 |
41,047 |
98.2% |
| 21.
Minnesota |
53,747 |
40,678 |
97.3% |
| 22.
Wisconsin |
57,670 |
39,897 |
95.4% |
| 23.
N. Carolina |
79,498 |
39,404 |
94.2% |
| 24.
Colorado |
41,104 |
39,073 |
93.4% |
| 25.
Virginia |
81,751 |
38,992 |
93.2% |
| 26.
N. Hampshire |
13,559 |
37,734 |
90.2% |
| 27.
Texas |
266,878 |
37,567 |
89.8% |
| 28.
Florida |
131,249 |
36,722 |
87.8% |
| 29.
Alabama |
48,269 |
36,689 |
87.7% |
| 30.
Vermont |
8,549 |
36,402 |
87.0% |
| 31.
Tennessee |
60,474 |
36,328 |
86.9% |
| 32.
Kansas |
32,240 |
36,282 |
86.8% |
| 33.
Kentucky |
39,813 |
36,255 |
86.7% |
| 34.
S. Carolina |
43,870 |
36,081 |
86.3% |
| 35.
Iowa |
33,744 |
35,678 |
85.3% |
| 36.
Missouri |
63,500 |
35,660 |
85.3% |
| 37.
Maine |
17,170 |
35,561 |
85.0% |
| 38.
Idaho |
14,600 |
35,155 |
84.1% |
| 39.
W. Virginia |
20,316 |
35,011 |
83.7% |
| 40.
Utah |
21,400 |
34,946 |
83.6% |
| 41.
Arizona |
45,540 |
34,824 |
83.3% |
| 42.
Wyoming |
6,600 |
34,188 |
81.8% |
| 43.
Arkansas |
26,836 |
33,691 |
80.6% |
| 44.
Nebraska |
20,609 |
33,237 |
79.5% |
| 45.
Louisiana |
47,363 |
33,109 |
79.2% |
| 46.
New Mexico |
19,802 |
32,713 |
78.2% |
| 47.
Montana |
10,200 |
32,121 |
76.8% |
| 48.
Mississippi |
30,736 |
31,897 |
76.3% |
| 49.
North Dakota |
7,904 |
29,863 |
71.4% |
| 50.
Oklahoma |
41,557 |
29,525 |
70.6% |
| 51.
S. Dakota |
9,250 |
29,072 |
69.5% |
| U.S.
Average |
2,887,233 |
$41,820 |
100.0% |
|
