The average teacher in America is starting to get paid more, but the economic downturn caused by the pandemic could jeopardize any progress made, the largest national teachers’ union has warned.
In its annual report that ranks and analyzes teacher salaries and education spending by state, released Monday, the National Education Association estimates that the national average teacher salary for the 2020-21 school year is $65,090—a 1.5 percent increase from the previous year. It also projected that states’ average spending per student, largely dictated by teachers’ salaries, increased nearly 5 percent to $14,243 this school year.
