Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's teachers earn comparable salaries to teachers in other Mountain States, despite national data that ranks Utah 49th in the nation for average teacher salary, according to a study released Thursday.
The Utah Foundation report is based on data from the National Center for Education Statistics and compares Utah teacher compensation to Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming. When age and experience are taken into account, Utah usually ranked in the middle of the pack for teacher salaries among neighboring states.
"We're not as bad as we thought," said Steve Kroes, president of the public policy group. "This shows us that we're pretty well competitive with these districts in the states around us."
Based on 2007-08 data, Utah's base salary for its lowest-paid teachers was $30,100, which was $5,000 higher than Montana and only $800 less than Idaho. Wyoming paid its new teachers the best, with a starting salary of $38,000 a year
We're not as bad as we thought. This shows us that we're pretty well competitive with these districts in the states around us.
–- Steve Kroes
Utah's highest-paid teachers ranked sixth among Mountain States, at $48,400, beating out Montana by $6,000 and Arizona by $1,000.
The reason for the disparity between the national ranking and Utah Foundation's report is that Utah's workforce demographics trend very young. Utah's teachers rank fifth lowest in the nation for years of teaching experience and second highest in the proportion of teachers with less than four years of experience, according to the report. That's why, when analyzed as a whole, Utah teachers earn less on average than states with more experienced teachers who have bigger salaries.
"Our teachers are younger and less experienced than in other states," Kroes said.
The report didn't examine the reasons Utah's teachers are younger, but Kroes said it's likely a combination of a few factors. Utah is a growing state, so as school districts expand to hire new employees, young teachers fresh out of college are hired by districts. What's more, Utah's population has traditionally ranked youngest in the nation, so it follows that teachers are younger as well.
The report also shows that of states in the Mountain West, Utah's teachers are the most likely to hold a job outside the school system. An estimated 22 percent of Utah's teachers supplement their teaching salary through outside work, for an average supplemental income of $5,800, according to the report.
"It may be that more Utah teachers have families to support — so there's more pressure for income," Kroes said.
It isn't clear how many of those supplemental jobs are summer jobs or night and weekend work.
Email:mfarmer@ksl.com
