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WORCESTER – As teachers get ready for the start of the school year, average salaries for Worcester teachers come in slightly below the average salary in Massachusetts, which a new study finds to be among the highest in the country.
City teachers are well above the national average teacher’s salary and the average salary for all occupations in Massachusetts.
Worcester public school teachers had an average salary of $80,121 in 2019, the most recent year recorded at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The third annual teacher pay report from business research website Business.org puts the average teachers salary within Massachusetts for the 2019-2020 school year at $83,622.
Teacher’s salaries in Worcester are based on the collective bargaining agreement between the school district and the Educational Association of Worcester. Exact salaries are based on position, related experience and academic degree.
The most recent contract between the district and the EAW states that teachers and administrators who have taught for at least 10 years for the city’s public schools are eligible for an annual longevity stipend based on years of service.
Teacher stipends
After working for 10 years, Worcester teachers are eligible for an $1,100 annual stipend, a $1,600 annual stipend after 15 years, a $2,100 stipend after 20 years, a $2,600 stipend after 25 years and a $3,100 stipend after 30 years.
Massachusetts teachers on average have salaries that are 19.40% higher than the average salary in the state overall, $70,010, the study finds. In Worcester, the average teacher salary is 13.5% higher than the average salary in the state.
According to figures provided by Business.org, Massachusetts offers the third-largest average teacher’s salary in the nation, beaten out only by California at $84,659 and New York at $87,543.
Business.org ranks Massachusetts seventh in states with the highest teacher’s salaries compared to the average salary. The study found that the nationwide average teachers salary is $63,645, 13% higher than the average salary for all workers.
22.9% higher
Worcester teacher’s salaries are 22.9% higher on average than the average teacher’s salary in the U.S.
The state ranking is based on data from the National Center for Educational Statistics, which includes primary and secondary school teachers. The average teacher’s salary was then compared to the average salary of all occupations, based on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The study also finds that teacher’s pay is 1.7% higher in Massachusetts this year than the average salary was in 2010.
In New England, only Connecticut ranked higher than Massachusetts for comparative average teacher’s salary at sixth.
