Utah among best states for teachers in America, according to recent study

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah is the second-best state in the U.S. for teachers, despite having some of the lowest spending and highest student-teacher ratios in the nation, according to a recent study.

A study by WalletHub ranked the 50 states and Washington, D.C., based on various factors, including opportunity, competition, academic environment, and work environment. Below are their top five states for teachers in America:

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1. Virginia
2. Utah
3. Washington
4. New York
5. Illinois

Why is Utah ranked so highly?

The Beehive State was ranked second overall, first in opportunity and competition, and 11th in academic and work environment.

The opportunity and competition dimension was measured based on metrics like average salary, teachers’ income growth potential, average teacher pension, and length of time before tenure kicks in. According to WalletHub, Utah has the second-highest average annual salary after adjusting for the cost of living, $53,748. They also say that Utah has the second-best 10-year change in salaries for teachers, having increased by 50%.

WalletHub also stated that Utah ranked first in the opportunity and competition dimension because it offers tenure to teachers after only three years. Additionally, projected numbers for teachers per 1,000 students are the 13th-lowest nationwide, “which leaves room for plenty of opportunities for new teachers,” they say.

When it came to academic and work environments, however, Utah ranked a little bit lower, landing 11th place. This dimension was based on factors like pupil-teacher ratio, public school spending per student, projected share of teacher turnover, and share of teachers who feel supported by their administration.

Part of the reason for Utah’s lower ranking is based on Utah’s high student-to-teacher ratio and public school spending. The Beehive State has the third-lowest public school spending per student nationwide, according to WalletHub. Additionally, Utah has the fourth-highest pupil-to-teacher ratio in the nation.

While these two factors brought the state down a little bit, Utah managed to pull ahead because teachers feel supported by their administration. WalletHub reports that 63% of teachers “strongly agree that they benefit from the administration’s support and encouragement,” which was the highest percentage nationwide.

To learn more about the methodology and see how other states stacked up, view WalletHub’s report here.