The average Louisiana teacher’s 2018-19 salary is estimated to be $50,923, the 39th highest in the nation, according to annual rankings and estimates recently released by the National Education Association (NEA).
In current dollars, average teacher salaries in the state rose 4.1 percent between 2009-10 and the current school year, the NEA report found. In inflation-adjusted dollars, teacher salaries in the state dropped 10.8 percent.
Nationwide, the average teacher salary adjusted for inflation declined 4.5 percent over the past 10 years, according to the NEA analysis. In current dollars, however, the average teacher salary in the nation increased by 11.2 percent over that period.
“Across the nation educator pay continues to erode, expanding the large pay gap between what teachers earn and what similarly educated and experienced professionals in other fields earn,” said NEA President Lily Eskelsen García.
The states where school teachers have seen their pay in real dollars lose the most ground were Wisconsin and Michigan, according to the NEA’s state rankings of teacher salaries.
In addition, 63 percent of U.S. school districts continue to offer teachers starting salaries of under $40,000, the report says.
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Highest Average Teacher Salaries by State
| State | 2017-18 Salary | 2018-19 Salary | 2018-19 Salary Rank | Change From 2009-10 to 2018-19 (% in Current Dollars) | Change From 2009-10 to 2018-19 (% in Inflation-Adjusted Dollars) |
| New York | $84,227 | $85,889 | 1 | 19.9 | 2.7 |
| California | $80,680 | $82,282 | 2 | 21.1 | 3.8 |
| Massachusetts | $80,357 | $82,042 | 3 | 19.4 | 2.3 |
| District of Columbia | $76,486 | $78,477 | 4 | 21.6 | 4.2 |
| Connecticut | $74,517 | $76,465 | 5 | 12.3 | -3.8 |
| Washington | $55,693 | $72,965 | 6 | 37.7 | 17.9 |
| Maryland | $69,627 | $70,463 | 7 | 10.1 | -5.7 |
| Alaska | $69,682 | $70,277 | 8 | 15.7 | -0.9 |
| New Jersey | $69,917 | $70,212 | 9 | 7.8 | -7.6 |
| Pennsylvania | $67,535 | $68,141 | 10 | 15.2 | -1.3 |
| Rhode Island | $66,758 | $67,040 | 11 | 12.3 | -3.8 |
| Illinois | $65,721 | $66,600 | 12 | 6.2 | -9.0 |
| Oregon | $63,061 | $64,385 | 13 | 16.0 | -0.6 |
| Delaware | $61,795 | $62,308 | 14 | 9.2 | -6.5 |
| Michigan | $61,911 | $61,825 | 15 | -1.9 | -16.0 |
| Vermont | $60,556 | $61,027 | 16 | 24.3 | 6.5 |
| Hawaii | $57,866 | $59,757 | 17 | 8.5 | -7.0 |
| Wyoming | $58,352 | $58,618 | 18 | 4.9 | -10.1 |
| Minnesota | $57,782 | $58,221 | 19 | 11.0 | -4.9 |
| New Hampshire | $57,833 | $58,146 | 20 | 13.0 | -3.2 |
| Iowa | $57,018 | $58,140 | 21 | 17.2 | 0.4 |
| Ohio | $58,000 | $57,799 | 22 | 3.3 | -11.5 |
| Georgia | $56,329 | $57,137 | 23 | 7.6 | -7.8 |
| Maine | $53,815 | $54,974 | 24 | 19.0 | 1.9 |
| Nebraska | $54,213 | $54,506 | 25 | 17.9 | 1.0 |
| Nevada | $54,280 | $54,280 | 26 | 5.3 | -9.7 |
| Texas | $53,334 | $54,155 | 27 | 12.2 | -3.9 |
| Montana | $52,776 | $54,034 | 28 | 18.1 | 1.2 |
| North Carolina | $51,231 | $53,975 | 29 | 15.2 | -1.3 |
| Kentucky | $52,952 | $53,434 | 30 | 7.9 | -7.6 |
| North Dakota | $52,850 | $53,434 | 31 | 24.6 | 6.8 |
| Colorado | $52,701 | $53,301 | 32 | 8.4 | -7.1 |
| Virginia | $51,994 | $52,466 | 33 | 9.2 | -6.4 |
| Oklahoma | $46,300 | $52,412 | 34 | 18.4 | 1.5 |
| Tennessee | $50,900 | $51,714 | 35 | 13.7 | -2.6 |
| Wisconsin | $51,469 | $51,453 | 36 | 0.4 | -14.0 |
| Arkansas | $50,544 | $51,019 | 37 | 10.8 | -5.1 |
| Indiana | $50,614 | $50,937 | 38 | 1.9 | -12.7 |
| Louisiana | $50,359 | $50,923 | 39 | 4.1 | -10.8 |
| Alabama | $50,568 | $50,810 | 40 | 6.8 | -8.5 |
| Idaho | $49,225 | $50,757 | 41 | 9.2 | -6.4 |
| South Carolina | $50,182 | $50,395 | 42 | 6.1 | -9.1 |
| Utah | $49,655 | $50,342 | 43 | 8.6 | -6.9 |
| Missouri | $49,304 | $50,064 | 44 | 10.9 | -5.0 |
| Arizona | $48,723 | $49,892 | 45 | 6.3 | -9.0 |
| Kansas | $49,754 | $49,800 | 46 | 6.7 | -8.6 |
| South Dakota | $47,631 | $48,786 | 47 | 25.6 | 7.6 |
| Florida | $48,168 | $48,395 | 48 | 3.6 | -11.2 |
| New Mexico | $47,152 | $47,826 | 49 | 3.4 | -11.4 |
| West Virginia | $45,642 | $47,681 | 50 | 7.1 | -8.2 |
| Mississippi | $44,926 | $45,574 | 51 | 7.7 | -7.7 |
Source: National Education Association
This article was first published by The Center Square.
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