Progress Meters Education Teacher Pay

Teacher Pay

Arizona’s median elementary school teacher salary remains significantly lower than the national median. With many district superintendents reporting low and/or frozen salaries as a top reason for teachers leaving the profession, lack of mentoring programs and professional development opportunities, lack of respect for the profession, and other factors are also cited.

Arizona students would benefit from policies and funding that enable schools to attract, support, and retain great teachers and principals. In addition, competitive pay and incentives to work in more challenging or remote location might stem teacher turnover.

Teacher Pay is defined as the rank of Arizona’s school teachers as compared to the other US states. Importantly, these data measure the salaries of all teachers, including those at charter schools and account for primary and secondary school teachers separately.

View Teacher Pay Rank Data

2020 Teacher Pay

Teacher Pay and Comparable Professions Adjusted for Cost-of-Living

State	Elementary School Teacher		Secondary School Teacher		Accountant and Auditor		Civil Engineer		Occupational Therapist		Physician Assistant
	Salary	Rank	Salary	Rank	Salary	Rank	Salary	Rank	Salary	Rank	Salary	Rank
United States	$60,940		$62,870		$73,560		$88,570		$86,280		$115,390
Alabama	60,781	25	62,284	24	74,639	16	100,186	3	101,352	4	107,949	42
Alaska	70,333	8	71,931	8	72,122	25	90,324	19	89,458	24	127,069	8
Arizona	$48,058	50	$52,731	47	$71,319	29	$82,336	40	$98,141	6	$120,426	20
Arkansas	57,249	31	60,579	28	74,640	15	90,307	20	97,320	10	123,790	12
California	73,857	3	75,962	2	67,895	38	96,108	5	88,660	26	111,641	34
Colorado	52,257	47	54,239	45	75,289	12	88,842	23	87,409	29	107,272	45
Connecticut	76,114	1	74,514	5	75,438	11	85,886	31	86,171	31	133,657	4
Delaware	65,704	15	68,773	14	77,414	5	89,296	22	80,423	42	109,527	39
Florida	55,980	35	59,871	30	64,455	49	83,040	38	87,347	30	109,119	40
Georgia	65,279	16	65,837	18	79,335	2	80,161	44	95,805	11	111,685	33
Hawaii	53,822	41	54,275	43	51,668	50	71,106	49	74,023	47	96,496	50
Idaho	53,937	40	54,794	42	66,866	42	85,792	32	91,725	16	121,009	18
Illinois	64,456	17	72,628	7	73,172	20	90,339	18	85,216	32	110,924	36
Indiana	56,426	33	57,430	37	74,949	13	90,428	17	92,593	13	118,985	22
Iowa	61,438	22	64,202	19	72,719	23	95,876	7	90,730	18	130,674	6
Kansas	58,128	29	59,574	31	71,256	31	83,621	36	97,623	7	118,969	23
Kentucky	60,927	24	63,547	23	71,568	27	95,938	6	90,343	20	101,487	48
Louisiana	55,404	38	57,804	36	70,751	35	0	50	99,909	5	109,693	38
Maine	52,367	45	57,422	38	64,753	48	88,097	26	73,061	49	116,657	28
Maryland	70,399	7	71,346	9	70,799	34	75,404	47	80,418	43	107,911	43
Massachusetts	74,746	2	75,797	3	73,542	19	82,518	39	77,554	45	107,482	44
Michigan	71,788	6	67,400	15	74,735	14	84,215	35	82,741	40	120,910	19
Minnesota	61,439	21	63,684	22	71,827	26	93,173	12	78,827	44	125,908	11
Mississippi	51,505	48	53,791	46	71,090	33	100,818	2	105,237	2	100,948	49
Missouri	52,683	43	51,060	49	73,112	21	92,063	13	89,831	23	114,070	30
Montana	52,342	46	54,246	44	67,636	39	81,840	42	83,134	39	127,016	9
Nebraska	67,374	13	69,374	12	71,318	30	94,592	10	88,380	27	123,039	14
Nevada	56,550	32	58,614	33	65,678	45	88,142	25	108,255	1	137,700	1
New Hampshire	56,394	34	58,376	34	65,052	46	78,197	46	75,793	46	111,850	32
New Jersey	61,138	23	67,060	16	76,181	9	83,233	37	84,043	36	118,241	25
New Mexico	63,732	19	61,186	25	67,278	41	98,606	4	90,790	17	134,347	3
New York	68,822	10	74,144	6	76,707	7	80,671	43	72,880	50	107,214	46
North Carolina	53,762	42	54,918	41	79,498	1	91,101	14	88,735	25	121,200	17
North Dakota	58,824	27	60,694	27	69,351	37	94,602	9	83,348	38	130,896	5
Ohio	73,767	4	75,136	4	76,765	6	90,837	15	97,421	9	123,518	13
Oklahoma	52,534	44	55,470	40	76,674	8	109,381	1	104,782	3	135,745	2
Oregon	68,082	11	70,812	11	70,245	36	88,611	24	90,616	19	114,550	29
Pennsylvania	69,289	9	69,258	13	72,598	24	90,629	16	83,897	37	110,113	37
Rhode Island	73,613	5	77,996	1	78,361	4	84,995	33	92,379	14	122,270	16
South Carolina	55,650	37	58,120	35	66,612	43	86,109	30	90,273	22	109,093	41
South Dakota	50,877	49	51,617	48	73,964	17	87,961	27	84,112	35	122,938	15
Tennessee	57,447	30	58,829	32	71,483	28	94,091	11	94,727	12	112,308	31
Texas	59,782	26	60,518	29	76,083	10	86,155	29	90,301	21	117,534	26
Utah	55,896	36	63,803	20	66,425	44	78,922	45	87,451	28	111,233	35
Vermont	58,497	28	61,183	26	64,927	47	73,637	48	73,065	48	117,381	27
Virginia	66,960	14	0	50	78,648	3	90,010	21	92,063	15	106,871	47
Washington	67,583	12	70,867	10	71,208	32	82,232	41	80,886	41	118,902	24
West Virginia	54,340	39	56,005	39	72,778	22	95,017	8	97,600	8	120,264	21
Wisconsin	61,991	20	63,798	21	73,819	18	86,398	28	84,233	34	128,662	7
Wyoming	63,804	18	66,519	17	67,435	40	84,914	34	85,119	33	126,444	10

Progress Meters:

Quality Early Learning

Third Grade Reading

Eighth Grade Math

High School Graduation Rate

Opportunity Youth

Post-High School Enrollment

Post-Secondary Attainment

Teacher Pay

Methodology

Education Data Profile

Download these consolidated reports to get a “snapshot in time” of the data we’ve collected on our shared priorities. These reports cover all 15 of Arizona’s counties as well as urban areas and demographic subgroups. Each profile features information and data visualizations that Arizonans can use to better understand and impact their communities.