See Table I-5 . Teacher income fell as a percentage of per-capita personal income, continuing a downward trend from past years. See Table I-6 . See Table I-7 . Compared to the Average Annual Earnings of Private Sector Workers.
States vary considerably according to their economic condition and the cost of living.
Table I-5 compares the average teacher salary to the average annual earnings of all workers in the private sector. The annual pay data apply to workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance programs and are compiled from reports submitted by employers for more than 93 million workers. Generally excluded from unemployment insurance are most agriculture workers on small farms, railroad workers, most domestic employees, student workers and the self-employed. This comparison serves only as an index to adjust for unique conditions within each state and to facilitate interstate comparisons. It is not presented as a standard by which to judge what teachers should be paid relative to the average worker.