How Much Do Teachers Earn In Minnesota?

Right off the bat, I'd say not enough. It's always puzzled me that one of the most important and beneficial to society jobs there is, doesn't pay a whole lot more than it does.

Each state maintains a lot of control over curriculum, academic standards, etc. Individual states also set teacher salaries.

Average salaries for teachers nationwide vary quite a bit. It all depends on the state.  Salaries across the country vary from $45,300 to $85,000.  That's quite a difference. When salaries are adjusted for the state's cost of living, the difference actually isn't that great.

According to 24/7Wall St, the average salary nationwide for teachers is $65,977.  Minnesota ranks number 20 on the list of states for teachers pay. The average salary for a Minnesota teacher is $63,497 and when adjusted for the cost of living in Minnesota, it's more like $64,767.

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States that have lower teacher's salaries also tend to spend less on education overall.  Minnesota spends about $12,975 per student, which is above the national average of $12,612.

Some research would lead us to believe that the more spent on education, the better the outcome. That doesn't seem to be the case in Minnesota.  We have a high school graduation rate of 80.6% and the national average is 85.3%.

It's crazy to me that the most essential occupations are the ones that pay the least. Who can argue the importance of teachers to society. We should just be grateful, I guess, that our teachers are in the field out of dedication instead of the paycheck. All the same, I think they should be paid a lot more.

The lowest paying states for teachers is our neighbor to the south, South Dakota. There average annual pay is only around $50,000.

(24/7WallSt)