Study Ranks New York as Best State for Teachers

As the school year gets started focus has returned to how fairly teachers are treated for their work, and a new study ranked New York as the best state for teachers.

Get our free mobile app

The study, done by WalletHub, ranked each state by a variety of factors covering both teacher compensation and each state's investment in their students. New York ranked in the top half of all categories and finished above Utah, Virginia, Florida and Washington for the top spot as most teacher-friendly.

New York finished first in average teacher salary adjusted for cost of living, public school spending per student, and existence of digital learning plan. The state also finished in the top ten in average starting salary adjusted for cost of living, pupil-teacher ratio, teacher's income growth potential, and 10-year change in teacher's salaries. New York finished 17th in quality of school system.

Much of the national conversation leading up to the 2022-2023 school year revolved around teacher shortages throughout the country. And while New York may be the most teacher-friendly state in the country according to this WalletHub study, it certainly is not immune to that issue. In fact, the New York State Union of Teachers has cited the teacher shortage as part of their push to gain higher wages and better working conditions. According to the Union's website, state officials estimate that New York will need more than 180,000 new teachers in the next decade, and over 30% of active teachers could retire within the next five years.

So despite being ranked as the most teacher-friendly state in the country, New York still has a lot of work to do to solve its teacher shortage problems just like most other states.