2021's Best & Worst States for Teachers

From Wallet Hub, Sep 20, 2021

Teaching can be a profoundly rewarding career, considering the critical role educators play in shaping young minds. But many teachers find themselves overworked and underpaid. Education jobs are among the lowest-paying occupations requiring a bachelor’s degree, and teacher salaries consistently fail to keep up with inflation. Meanwhile, the Every Student Succeeds Act demands growth in student performance. And this year, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to make teachers’ jobs even harder than usual.

Earlier in 2021, teachers in many schools across the U.S. had to provide online-only instruction to students, or a hybrid of online and in-personal learning. Because of the difficulties of switching to this system, a massive number of students experienced significant learning loss. While schools are reopening this fall, teachers still have to contend with new variants of the disease and rising case levels.

In some states, teachers are more fairly paid and better protected against the current pandemic than in others. Those states are less likely to face a revolving door of teacher turnover. To help America’s educators find the best opportunities and teaching environments, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 24 key indicators of teacher-friendliness….

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