Arizona ranks last among states in paying teachers in 2020-21

PHOENIX — Arizona placed 50th on a comparison of teacher earnings by state for the 2020-21 school year published by Business.org this month.

The average teacher salary in the Grand Canyon State was $52,157, 5.5% below the average salary of all other occupations. That percentage is what ranked last among states while the average salary placed 43rd.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia were compared, and D.C. finished last at 18% below average.

Only five states in the country and the District of Columbia had teachers’ earnings below the state’s average salary: Arizona, Virginia, Florida, Colorado and Minnesota.

Pennsylvania, California and New York were the top three states in teacher earnings in 2020-21.

Nationally, teachers made 11.7% more than the average salary of other occupations at $65,090 compared to $58,260, although, teacher salaries in the U.S. declined by approximately 3% from 2010-21, according to Business.org.

Arizona teachers on average make 0.6% more than they did a decade ago, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

The state continues to struggle with teaching vacancies with more than 2,000, according to the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association.

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