With World Teachers' Day around the corner and teachers making an average of 5% less per year than they did 10 years ago after adjusting for inflation, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the Best & Worst States for Teachers in 2024, as well as expert commentary, in order to help educators find places to work with good teaching environments and above-average compensation.

WalletHub analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 24 key metrics, ranging from teachers' income growth potential to the pupil-teacher ratio to public-school spending per student.
 

Best States for Teachers		Worst States for Teachers
1. New York		42. Louisiana
2. Washington		43. Oklahoma
3. Virginia		44. Alaska
4. Utah		45. South Dakota
5. Maryland		46. District of Columbia
6. Illinois		47. Tennessee
7. Georgia		48. Nevada
8. Florida		49. New Hampshire
9. California		50. Hawaii
10. Indiana		51. Maine

 
Best vs. Worst

• New Mexico has the highest annual average starting salary for teachers (adjusted for cost of living), which is 1.5 times higher than in Montana, the state with the lowest.
   
• New York has the highest average annual salary for public-school teachers (adjusted for cost of living), which is 1.7 times higher than in Hawaii, the state with the lowest.
   
• Alaska has the lowest projected number of teachers per 1,000 students by the year 2030 (indicating the size of competition), which is six times lower than in the District of Columbia, which has the highest.
   
• Vermont has the lowest pupil-teacher ratio, which is 2.2 times lower than in Arizona, the state with the highest.
   
• New York has the highest public-school spending per student, which is 3.2 times higher than in Utah, the state with the lowest.

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