PROVIDENCE — Starting teachers in Rhode Island on average made about a quarter less than the average annual salary for all other occupations in the state, while Massachusetts’ starting teachers made close to one-third less than those working elsewhere in the commonwealth.
That’s according to a new report released Thursday by Business.org, titled “The Best States for Teachers in 2019.” The report ranks all 50 states and Washington, D.C. based on a percentage difference between what starting teachers made in each district compared to what others made in all occupations in other industries based on information from the U.S. of Labor Statistics.
In its methodology, Business.org focused on average entry-level 2017-18 salaries for teachers only in elementary schools, middle schools and high schools from every district in each state, pulling the data from the National Education Association. Salaries for specialists in the K-12 range, such as special education teachers, were also factored into the data, the report states.
Starting teaching salaries were used instead of all teachers’ pay because the researchers believed tenured-teaching salaries would skew the data.
Salaries for postsecondary teachers, technical teachers and teachers with master’s degrees were also not included in Business.org’s findings, according to the report.
The average K-12 starting teacher made $41,689 in 2017-18 in Rhode Island, according to the report. The Ocean State was one of only 16 states and the District of Columbia to offer a starting salary for teachers in excess of $40,000.
However, the average salary for individuals working in all other occupations in the Ocean State as of May 2018 was $54,810, a difference of 23.9% and ranking Rhode Island No. 31 overall in the report.
In Massachusetts, starting teachers made $45,498 in 2017-18, the report states, but individuals working in all other industries in the Bay State made $63,910 as of May 2018, a difference of 28.8% – ranking Massachusetts No. 44 overall in the findings and with the highest percentage difference of all six New England states.
Vermont had the lowest percentage difference in New England at 23.2% ($38,499 average starting teacher salary; $50,150 average salary for all other industries), ranking No. 29 overall.
Louisiana, at 5.5%, had the lowest percentage difference in the United States, according to the report, while Colorado had the highest at 40%.
James Bessette is a PBN staff writer. Email him at Research@PBN.com.
