Report: Pennsylvania teachers getting paid at best rate in the U.S.

PITTSBURGH — Pennsylvania teachers are getting paid at a better rate than at all the other states and Washington, D.C., according to a new study from business.org.

The study compared average teacher pay in each state to the average of all other occupations. Numbers show Commonwealth teachers earn 28.5% more than the average worker.

To compare, our neighbors to the west rank 11th. Ohio teachers make an average of 16% more than other jobs. West Virginia ranks 32nd on the list with Washington, D.C., pulling up the rear.

We took the study to the President of the Pittsburgh Federation for Teachers Nina Esposito-Visgitis.

“I did notice some things that were interesting, but the study wasn’t comparing apples to apples,” she said. “I think it’s very misleading.”

The “apples” in this case is education level.

“Every job is important. I’m not taking away from any job at all, but you truly are comparing it to everyone – high schoolers that are working important jobs but they don’t have the education level of a teacher,” she said.

Channel 11 reached out to business.org representatives today. No one was available for an interview but they did respond to our question about that topic over email.

“For this report, we analyzed the data on what teachers make on average in each state compared to other occupations, regardless of education level.”

Esposito-Visgitis did say there are some positives to draw from the state, namely where the highest paid teachers are nationwide.

“I was happy to see that teachers in states that are unionized, which is no surprise, make more than states that aren’t unionized,” she said.

She also added that despite the comparatively high salaries, Pennsylvania is still falling victim to the nationwide teacher shortage. She says there are more openings in her district than they’ve ever had.

You can apply for jobs in the district here.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

Lawmakers examine increase in mail theft, mail carrier robberies

©2022 Cox Media Group