NJ Ranked As 16th Best State In Nation For Teachers

NEW JERSEY — In the midst of a significant teacher shortage across the state and nationwide, New Jersey was ranked 16th best in the nation in which to be a teacher, but near dead last (47th) for teachers to retire in.

New Jersey was ranked 16th best state for teachers in 2022’s Best (& Worst) States for Teachers from Schoolaroo, a company that supports home schooling and distance learning.

New Jersey ranked high in terms of career accessibility (how easy it is to become a teacher), salary and compensation and work benefits. However, New Jersey scored lower points for teachers' pension qualification and payment, Social Security participation, whether teachers have access to a portable retirement plan, teacher and employer retirement contribution rates, teacher tenure, vesting period and retirement ratings.

Schoolaroo determined this ranking by comparing the salaries and retirement packages and pensions for public school teachers in all 50 states.

Their analysis found that Washington, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts were the best states to be a teacher in.

Pennsylvania and New Jersey ranked 15th and 16th.

The median teacher's salary in New Jersey was $70,815 in 2019-2020, according to NJ.com.

The worst states to be a teacher in, according to Schoolaroo, are: Florida, Mississippi, Indiana, West Virginia, Louisiana and Arizona.

The worst states fore teacher retirement packages are Pennsylvania, Illinois, North Dakota, New Jersey, Missouri, New Hampshire and the worst state being Massachusetts.

Because there is a current shortage of teachers returning back to the classroom after the COVID pandemic, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law this past January that allows retired teachers and support staff to return to the classroom, get paid and continue to collect their retirement pensions. This is only if they fill what's designated as a critical-need teaching job.

Why is there a teacher shortage in New Jersey?

First, a high number of teachers chose to retire and not return to the classroom during and after the COVID pandemic. In 2021, nearly 4,000 New Jersey teachers retired, which was 10 percent higher than the year before, according to the New Jersey Teachers’ Pension and Annuity Fund.

Secondly, fewer young people are studying to become teachers in the Garden State: Between 2010 and 2018, enrollment in teaching education programs across the state dropped by 47 percent, according to this 2020 report from the New Jersey Policy Perspective, a nonpartisan think tank.