Colorado Among Worst States For Teachers: Report

Having a great teacher in school can change the trajectory of a young student’s life. Teachers are paid and treated better in some states than others, though, and a recently released report ranked the 50 best and worst states for the profession.

The report from personal finance site WalletHub ranked all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 23 key indicators of “teacher-friendliness,” which included such things as the income growth potential for the profession, pupil-teacher ratio and teacher safety.

Each of these 23 key indicators were then listed with its corresponding weight, and graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the maximum teacher experience. The weighted scores were subsequently combined to give each state an individual score.

For Colorado teachers, the state ranks 40th overall in the country for the education profession. Our state also finished 47th in opportunity & competition and 8th in academic & work environment.

North Dakota took home the award for best state for teachers in the nation, with Arizona coming in dead last in the rankings.

The national average teacher salary is $59,660, according to the most recent version of the National Education Association. “Over the past decade, the average classroom teacher salary has increased 15.2% but after adjusting for inflation, the average salary has actually decreased by $1,823 or 3.0%,” said the NEA.

Michigan finished first in the country for the average highest-annual teacher salary, but Massachusetts earned the no. 1 spot for best school system, according to the report.

On the other end of the teaching experience spectrum, Arizona was joined by New Hampshire, Hawaii, Louisiana, and West Virginia as the five worst states for teachers.

Here are the top 10 overall states:

1. North Dakota: 61.69
2. New Jersey: 60.15
3. Pennsylvania: 59.67
4. Wyoming: 56.98
5. Connecticut: 56.53
6. Illinois: 55.93
7. Minnesota: 55.61
8. Massachusetts: 55.41
9. Utah: 54.50
10. New York: 54.03

Gus Saltonstall contributed to this report.