According to a national study by WalletHub.com, Oklahoma ranks as No. 30 in a report on the “Best and Worst States for Teachers.”
But in the category of “academic work and environment,” Oklahoma is No. 48. Only Alaska, California and New Mexico have lower marks in that category.
Adjusted for the cost of living, Texas has the highest starting salary for teachers ($46,073) while Maine has the lowest ($31,166).
New York has the highest annual salary for public school teachers ($77,867) while Maine is the lowest at $47,353.
New York also has the highest student spending ($27,656) while Idaho has the lowest at $7,833.
Nevada has the lowest projected number of teachers per thousand students while the District of Columbia has the highest.
Vermont has the lowest pupil-teacher ratio (10.83 students per teacher_) and Arizona has the highest (23.56).
“Earlier in 2021, teachers in many schools across the U.S. had to provide online-only instruction to students, or a hybrid of online and in-personal learning,” the report states. “Because of the difficulties of switching to this system, a massive number of students experienced significant learning loss. While schools are reopening this fall, teachers still have to contend with new variants of the disease and rising case levels.”
The best states for teachers are:
- New York
- Utah
- Washington
- Pennsylvania
- New Jersey
- Virginia
- Maryland
- Delaware
- Illinois
- Connecticut
The worst states for teachers are:
- New Mexico
- Louisiana
- Hawaii
- Missouri
- Nevada
- Montana
- Arizona
- Maine
- District of Columbia
- New Hampshire