What is the salary of a public and private high school teacher in the USA?

As students and teachers return to the classroom, educational policy experts note the continuing teacher shortage plaguing districts around the country. A recent study found that around 50,000 vacant teaching positions leave critical gaps in the country’s educational infrastructure. With state and federal governments doing very little to attract new teachers and retain those in the profession, filling the gap is an uphill battle for school districts with already limited resources.

In 2021, the National Education Association reported that 56 percent of preschool, elementary, and secondary school teachers had taken up to $45,000 in student loans. Twenty-six percent of these educators had taken out more than $65,000. Not only do many educators take out loans, but many, over a decade into their service, are still paying them off. Fifty-three percent of preschool and K-12 educators still have unpaid loans. Relieving the cost of entry for prospective teachers could attract people to the profession.

The difference a union makes

Public school teachers, who often form part of unions that negotiate pay and conditions at the district level, often make more than private school teachers who negotiate with the handful of teachers at their site.

A study published by the National Bureau for Economic Research (NBER) this month showed that strikes are one vehicle that has helped teachers raise their salaries and improve their benefits over the last decade and a half. The study examined 772 strikes over twenty-seven states between 2007 and 2023. In terms of salary, in districts impacted by strikes, wages grew between 5-8 percent, or between $3,000 and $7,000 a year in the three-to-five-year period following the strike. The districts also began paying more to increase teacher benefits, which rose anywhere between six and nine percent ($2,700-$3,400) within that same period. The authors were careful to point out that more than a fifth of strikes did not lead to pay increases, but they also note that the teachers may have been striking to prevent any further pay cuts or freezes.

The difference in pay: public versus private school teachers

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2023, the median income for elementary public school teachers was $64,380, and $51,360 for those teaching in public schools. When looking at the differences in pay for middle school teachers, those in public schools made $65,000, whereas those in private schools made $58,500. The gap is smallest when it comes to high school teachers, where those in public institutions make $66,070, which is only $4,780 more than their private school counterparts.