Data from the American Federation of Teachers 2000 teacher salary survey show that, despite annual increases, the relative salaries teachers have declined over time.
- Nationally, a teacher’s average salary for 1999-2000 was $41,820, up 3.2 percent from the previous year. During the same interval, there was a 3.4 percent increase in the consumer price index and a 6.2 percent increase in the per-capita gross domestic product.
- In 1990, the teacher’s average salary was 20 percent higher than that of a full-time worker in the United States. Over the last decade, however, relative to the average worker, teachers have lost ground. In the 1999-2000 school year, the teacher advantage had fallen to 10 percent.
- In 2000, teachers earned 5 percent more than other government employees, less than the 12 percent advantage teachers enjoyed in 1990.
Table 2 Teacher Salary Compared to Inflation and Gross Domestic Product Per Capita |
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Year | Teacher’s Average Salary |
Consumer Price Index | Teacher’s Average Salary (2000 Dollars) | Gross Domestic Product (per capita) |
Teacher Salary to per Capita GDP Ratio |
1990 | $31,347 | 133.8 | $40,765 | $22,189 | 1.41 |
1991 | $32,960 | 137.9 | $41,588 | $22,647 | 1.46 |
1992 | $33,927 | 141.9 | $41,602 | $23,637 | 1.44 |
1993 | $35,004 | 145.8 | $41,774 | $24,600 | 1.42 |
1994 | $35,764 | 149.7 | $41,569 | $25,818 | 1.39 |
1995 | $36,766 | 153.6 | $41,649 | $26,722 | 1.38 |
1996 | $37,564 | 158.6 | $41,211 | $28,849 | 1.30 |
1997 | $38,415 | 161.5 | $41,388 | $30,278 | 1.27 |
1998 | $39,360 | 164.0 | $41,760 | $32,373 | 1.22 |
1999 | $40,540 | 168.3 | $41,91 | $34,063 | 1.19 |
2000 | $41,820 | 174.0 | $41,820 | $36,172 | 1.16 |
Source: F. Howard Nelson, Rachel Drown, Jewell C. Gould, the Research & Information Services Department, American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO, Survey & Analysis of Teacher Salary Trends 2000 (Washington, DC: 2001). Available online at http://www.aft. |