Figure A
Average weekly wages of public school teachers and other college graduates ($2025), 1979–2025
| Year | Public school teachers | Other college grads | Public school teachers | Other college grads | Public school teachers | Other college grads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | $1,252 | $1,623 | ||||
| 1980 | $1,207 | $1,583 | ||||
| 1981 | $1,216 | $1,594 | ||||
| 1982 | $1,234 | $1,626 | ||||
| 1983 | $1,249 | $1,651 | ||||
| 1984 | $1,300 | $1,675 | ||||
| 1985 | $1,330 | $1,707 | ||||
| 1986 | $1,393 | $1,779 | ||||
| 1987 | $1,422 | $1,807 | ||||
| 1988 | $1,467 | $1,841 | ||||
| 1989 | $1,441 | $1,797 | ||||
| 1990 | $1,449 | $1,795 | ||||
| 1991 | $1,443 | $1,797 | ||||
| 1992 | $1,457 | $1,815 | ||||
| 1993 | $1,487 | $1,827 | $1487 | $1827 | ||
| 1994 | $1,514 | $1,838 | ||||
| 1995 | $1,541 | $1,850 | ||||
| 1996 | $1,569 | $1,861 | $1569 | $1,861 | ||
| 1997 | $1,560 | $1,899 | ||||
| 1998 | $1,566 | $1,956 | ||||
| 1999 | $1,566 | $2,028 | ||||
| 2000 | $1,573 | $2,058 | ||||
| 2001 | $1,562 | $2,087 | ||||
| 2002 | $1,576 | $2,115 | ||||
| 2003 | $1,592 | $2,114 | ||||
| 2004 | $1,590 | $2,114 | ||||
| 2005 | $1,540 | $2,106 | ||||
| 2006 | $1,530 | $2,117 | ||||
| 2007 | $1,542 | $2,096 | ||||
| 2008 | $1,522 | $2,098 | ||||
| 2009 | $1,589 | $2,160 | ||||
| 2010 | $1,612 | $2,159 | ||||
| 2011 | $1,552 | $2,106 | ||||
| 2012 | $1,531 | $2,127 | ||||
| 2013 | $1,525 | $2,139 | ||||
| 2014 | $1,500 | $2,126 | ||||
| 2015 | $1,533 | $2,199 | ||||
| 2016 | $1,541 | $2,254 | ||||
| 2017 | $1,536 | $2,230 | ||||
| 2018 | $1,536 | $2,274 | ||||
| 2019 | $1,573 | $2,302 | ||||
| 2020 | $1,596 | $2,389 | ||||
| 2021 | $1,604 | $2,390 | ||||
| 2022 | $1,463 | $2,386 | ||||
| 2023 | $1,489 | $2,419 | ||||
| 2024 | $1,486 | $2,425 | ||||
| 2025 | $1,472 | $2,396 |
Notes: Figure shows average weekly wages (2025$) of public school teachers (elementary, middle, and secondary) and other college graduate (nonteacher) peers. Data points for 1994 and 1995 are unavailable; dotted lines represent interpolated data. See Allegretto and Mishel 2019, Appendix A, for more details on data and methodology.
Source: Author’s analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group data accessed via the EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 2026.6.10 (EPI 2026a), https://microdata.epi.org.
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