Best & Worst States For Teachers – Where Does Iowa Rank? Not Good…

We've heard it said many times going into the 2020/21 school year. It looks a lot "different" this year. In person teachers have to find a way to run a classroom through masks, plexi-glass shields on kid's desks and social distancing. On-line teachers face even bigger barriers as they try to teach and prepare virtual on-line lessons. World Teacher's Day is coming up on October 5th, and now, more than ever, they're earning their money.

The personal finance website, WalletHub has released its report on 2020’s Best & Worst States for Teachers. WalletHub analyzed the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 25 key metrics, ranging from teachers’ income growth potential, to the pupil-teacher ratio, to whether the state has a digital learning plan.

Where are best opportunities and teaching environments in the U.S.? Iowa finished in about the middle, at 28th overall. The state finished 20th, in the "Opportunity & Competition" rank, which includes average salary and average starting salary for teachers (adjusted to cost of living), teachers’ income growth potential, and the 10 year change in teacher salaries. Iowa finished 30th in the "Academic & Work Environment" ranking which measures things like statewide school reopening, existence of digital learning plan, out-of-school access to instructional materials, quality of school system and pupil-teacher ratio. Looking ahead to the future, as far as, projected number of teachers per 1,000 students by year 2028...Iowa finished in a tie for DEAD LAST.

Check out the map below to see how other states are ranked. The top 3 states are Washington, Utah and New Jersey, and the worst three states are Arizona, New Mexico and New Hampshire.