Teachers earn 19.2% less than comparable college graduates: Teacher weekly wage penalty (or premium) for all teachers and by gender, 1979–2019
| All | Women | Men | All | Women | Men | All | Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | -7.06% | 6.53% | -16.64% | ||||||
| 1980 | -9.31% | 4.48% | -19.17% | ||||||
| 1981 | -10.06% | 3.12% | -18.97% | ||||||
| 1982 | -10.21% | 2.84% | -19.36% | ||||||
| 1983 | -11.82% | 1.04% | -20.72% | ||||||
| 1984 | -10.04% | 2.48% | -19.68% | ||||||
| 1985 | -10.22% | 1.87% | -19.54% | ||||||
| 1986 | -8.79% | 3.18% | -18.36% | ||||||
| 1987 | -7.89% | 3.85% | -18.08% | ||||||
| 1988 | -8.01% | 5.12% | -18.17% | ||||||
| 1989 | -8.21% | 3.04% | -17.00% | ||||||
| 1990 | -7.73% | 4.03% | -17.87% | ||||||
| 1991 | -9.07% | 0.63% | -16.33% | ||||||
| 1992 | -7.01% | 3.08% | -15.57% | ||||||
| 1993 | -5.05% | 4.11% | -13.05% | -5.05% | 4.11% | -13.05% | |||
| 1994 | – | ||||||||
| 1995 | – | ||||||||
| 1996 | -6.05% | -0.09% | -15.05% | -6.05% | -0.09% | -15.05% | |||
| 1997 | -6.17% | 1.21% | -18.63% | ||||||
| 1998 | -8.96% | -1.46% | -20.51% | ||||||
| 1999 | -10.44% | -2.70% | -21.68% | ||||||
| 2000 | -11.81% | -5.08% | -22.65% | ||||||
| 2001 | -12.10% | -4.03% | -25.32% | ||||||
| 2002 | -12.06% | -5.14% | -24.15% | ||||||
| 2003 | -11.28% | -4.89% | -21.18% | ||||||
| 2004 | -12.83% | -6.18% | -23.29% | ||||||
| 2005 | -13.25% | -6.30% | -24.49% | ||||||
| 2006 | -15.02% | -8.00% | -27.34% | ||||||
| 2007 | -11.70% | -4.68% | -23.45% | ||||||
| 2008 | -14.49% | -7.70% | -25.67% | ||||||
| 2009 | -12.46% | -4.53% | -24.65% | ||||||
| 2010 | -11.95% | -4.59% | -23.68% | ||||||
| 2011 | -12.78% | -6.45% | -24.19% | ||||||
| 2012 | -16.00% | -10.04% | -26.18% | ||||||
| 2013 | -16.39% | -10.13% | -27.28% | ||||||
| 2014 | -16.50% | -10.47% | -26.19% | ||||||
| 2015 | -18.38% | -13.36% | -26.73% | ||||||
| 2016 | -19.37% | -12.20% | -31.61% | ||||||
| 2017 | -20.90% | -15.54% | -30.46% | ||||||
| 2018 | -21.97% | -15.86% | -31.80% | ||||||
| 2019 | -19.20% | -13.19% | -30.18% |
Notes: Figure shows regression-adjusted weekly wage penalties (or premiums): how much less (or more), in percentage terms, elementary, middle, and secondary public school teachers earn in weekly wages than their college-educated, nonteaching peers. Data points for 1994 and 1995 are unavailable and represented by dotted lines. See Allegretto and Mishel 2019, especially Appendix A, for more details.
Extended notes: Figure shows regression-adjusted weekly wage penalties (or premiums): how much less (or more), in percentage terms elementary, middle, and secondary public school teachers make in weekly wages than their college-educated, nonteaching peers. College-educated workers refers to workers who have a bachelor’s degree or more education. The dependent variable is (log) weekly wages with indicator controls on public school teacher, private school teacher, gender, and married, along with indicator sets on education (M.A., professional degree, Ph.D.) and race/ethnicity (black, Hispanic, other); also included are age (as a quartic) and state fixed effects. Estimates are omitted for 1994 and 1995, as imputation flags are incomplete or not available; data points for these years are represented by dotted lines. See Allegretto and Mishel 2019, especially Appendix A, for more details.
Source: Authors’ analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group data accessed via the EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.2 (EPI 2020).