The pay penalty for teachers—the gap between the weekly wages of teachers and other college graduates—grew to a record 26.6% in 2023, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

This relative pay penalty—which is adjusted for education, experience, and demographic characteristics—increased despite a small improvement of 1.7% in teachers’ average weekly wages in 2023, from $1,384 to $1,408. When broken down by gender, the pay penalty was 36.3% for men and 21.4% for women in the teaching profession. 

The average weekly wage of teachers has been falling behind that of other college graduates since 1996–when the teacher pay penalty was 6.1%–and more so since 2014.

The report also features state-level estimates showing that teachers were paid less than other college graduates in every state. In seven states, teacher pay penalties exceeded 30%—including Colorado (38.4%), Arizona (32.9%), Virginia (32.0%), Oklahoma (31.8%), New Hampshire (31.6%), Minnesota (31.0%), and Alabama (31.0%). 

Although teachers typically receive better benefits packages than other professionals do, this does not offset the growing wage penalty. After factoring in benefits, the total compensation penalty for teachers was 16.7% in 2023. 

According to the report, meaningfully boosting teacher pay requires targeted policy action by local and state governments, with support from the federal government, to improve funding for schools. Additionally, public-sector collective bargaining should be expanded, given the role of unions in advocating for improved job quality and better pay.

“It is hard to think of a more consequential profession than teaching—which makes this persistent, growing wage gap profoundly troubling. The quality of public education greatly hinges on supporting our teaching workforce and sufficiently funding our schools. This is a political failure that has profound implications for our children, their families and communities, and the future of our nation. Lawmakers at every level of government can—and must—do better,” said report author Sylvia Allegretto, who is a senior economist at CEPR and research associate at EPI.