Across the 29 states we track, Oregon gives Teachers the strongest cost-of-living-adjusted pay: about $92,800 real pay on a median of $97,800. California follows at about $92,300 real pay, then Washington at about $91,400. The table ranks every state by real pay, so a high nominal salary in an expensive state cannot masquerade as a raise.
Teacher Salary by State (2026): Real Pay Ranked
Oregon ranks first for Teacher real pay: about $92,800 after cost of living. Median and real pay for all 29 states, ranked.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS) & BEA Regional Price Parities · Updated October 2026
States ranked
29
Metros counted
45
National average
$73,800
Teacher pay by state, ranked by real pay
| State | Median pay | Real pay (COL-adjusted) | Metro(s) counted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Oregon | $97,800 | $92,800 | Portland |
| 2. California | $101,600 | $92,300 | Los Angeles-Long Beach, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco-Oakland, Fresno, Sacramento |
| 3. Washington | $101,600 | $91,400 | Seattle |
| 4. New York | $100,900 | $89,600 | New York |
| 5. Ohio | $80,000 | $83,800 | Columbus |
| 6. Illinois | $80,600 | $77,800 | Chicago |
| 7. Massachusetts | $84,000 | $77,600 | Boston |
| 8. Pennsylvania | $79,500 | $77,500 | Philadelphia |
| 9. District of Columbia | $80,600 | $74,000 | Washington |
| 10. Maryland | $75,400 | $72,200 | Baltimore |
| 11. Wisconsin | $67,100 | $69,200 | Milwaukee |
| 12. Kentucky | $64,400 | $69,200 | Louisville |
| 13. Kansas | $61,500 | $69,200 | Wichita |
| 14. Nebraska | $62,200 | $67,700 | Omaha |
| 15. New Mexico | $64,500 | $67,500 | Albuquerque |
| 16. Georgia | $67,400 | $67,300 | Atlanta |
| 17. Indiana | $63,600 | $66,500 | Indianapolis |
| 18. Tennessee | $62,300 | $66,100 | Nashville, Memphis |
| 19. Louisiana | $60,700 | $65,600 | New Orleans |
| 20. Texas | $64,100 | $65,500 | Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, El Paso |
| 21. Missouri | $60,500 | $65,400 | Kansas City |
| 22. Michigan | $64,900 | $64,700 | Detroit |
| 23. Minnesota | $67,000 | $63,900 | Minneapolis |
| 24. Nevada | $63,000 | $62,900 | Las Vegas |
| 25. Colorado | $64,800 | $62,800 | Denver, Colorado Springs |
| 26. Arizona | $60,800 | $60,700 | Phoenix-Mesa, Tucson |
| 27. Oklahoma | $54,200 | $60,400 | Oklahoma City, Tulsa |
| 28. North Carolina | $55,900 | $57,200 | Charlotte, Raleigh |
| 29. Florida | $60,000 | $56,200 | Jacksonville, Miami |
Method: each state aggregates the BLS OEWS metro medians we track for Teacher in that state - an employment-weighted mean where every counted metro publishes employment (27 of 29 states), otherwise a simple mean (2 states). Real pay = state median divided by (state RPP / 100), where the state RPP is the mean BEA Regional Price Parity of its counted metros; figures are rounded to the nearest $100. Twin cities sharing one metro estimate (for example Phoenix-Mesa) are counted once. Arlington, TX and Cleveland, OH metros lack a cost-of-living index in our dataset and are excluded from their state's figures. States without a tracked metro are omitted rather than estimated.
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Frequently Asked Questions
On cost-of-living-adjusted pay, Oregon leads at about $92,800 real pay (median $97,800), ahead of California at about $92,300.
We aggregate the BLS median wages of the metros we track in each state (an employment-weighted mean where employment data exists, otherwise a simple average), then divide by the mean Regional Price Parity of those metros to get real pay.
The full city-level table with 10th-90th percentiles and every metro's cost-of-living index is on the Teacher salary hub at /salary/teacher/.