Earlier today, the National Education Association (NEA) released their annual Rankings and Estimates report.  According to the report, North Carolina’s average teacher salary for 2018 ranked 39th out of the 50 states and Washington, D.C.

But the NEA ranking does not adjust for cost of living.  When C2ER cost-of-living indices for 2017 are applied, North Carolina’s rank jumps to 29th in the nation.  Last year, North Carolina’s cost-of-living adjusted average salary was 33rd in the nation.

Unadjusted Rank Jurisdiction Estimated Average Salary (2017-18) COL Index (2017)
 COL-Adjusted Average Salary  Revised Rank
13 Michigan  $62,702 89.7  $69,902 1
11 Illinois  $65,776 97.2  $67,671 2
9 Pennsylvania  $67,398 102.0  $66,076 3
1 New York  $83,585 132.5  $63,083 4
17 Ohio  $58,000 92.3  $62,839 5
22 Iowa  $56,790 91.3  $62,202 6
23 Georgia  $56,329 90.8  $62,036 7
15 Wyoming  $58,578 95.6  $61,274 8
26 Indiana  $54,846 91.1  $60,204 9
3 Massachusetts  $79,710 132.9  $59,977 10
14 Delaware  $60,484 102.9  $58,779 11
29 Texas  $53,167 91.2  $58,297 12
5 Connecticut  $73,113 125.7  $58,165 13
24 Wisconsin  $55,895 96.2  $58,103 14
21 Minnesota  $57,782 99.7  $57,956 15
28 Nebraska  $53,473 92.9  $57,560 16
2 California  $81,126 141.0  $57,536 17
6 New Jersey  $69,917 121.9  $57,356 18
36 Tennessee  $50,900 89.8  $56,682 19
30 Kentucky  $52,952 93.7  $56,512 20
38 Kansas  $50,403 90.2  $55,879 21
43 Arkansas  $49,017 87.8  $55,828 22
40 Alabama  $50,239 90.3  $55,636 23
20 Nevada  $57,812 104.7  $55,217 24
42 Missouri  $49,208 89.9  $54,736 25
27 North Dakota  $54,421 99.7  $54,585 26
7 Maryland  $69,761 128.7  $54,204 27
10 Rhode Island  $66,758 123.6  $54,011 28
37 North Carolina  $50,861 94.6  $53,764 29
41 Idaho  $49,225 92.2  $53,389 30
39 Louisiana  $50,256 94.4  $53,237 31
8 Alaska  $69,474 131.3  $52,912 32
31 Montana  $52,776 100.4  $52,566 33
25 Washington  $55,175 107.1  $51,517 34
35 South Carolina  $51,027 99.5  $51,283 35
32 Colorado  $52,389 102.3  $51,211 36
49 Oklahoma  $45,678 89.2  $51,209 37
51 Mississippi  $43,107 85.1  $50,655 38
45 New Mexico  $47,839 94.9  $50,410 39
19 New Hampshire  $57,833 115.0  $50,290 40
34 Virginia  $51,265 102.2  $50,161 41
46 Arizona  $47,746 95.6  $49,944 42
48 Utah  $47,604 95.7  $49,743 43
4 D.C.  $76,486 155.7  $49,124 44
12 Oregon  $63,143 129.3  $48,834 45
16 Vermont  $58,527 120.7  $48,490 46
44 South Dakota  $47,944 99.5  $48,185 47
47 Florida  $47,721 99.3  $48,057 48
50 West Virginia  $45,642 95.9  $47,593 49
33 Maine  $51,663 113.6  $45,478 50
18 Hawaii  $57,866 188.3  $30,731 51