Where NJ ranks on list of best states to be a teacher

I’m experimenting in real time as I begin to write this. I have in front of me a study that tells which states are the best and worst for teachers, but I haven’t read it yet. I want to write down my guess first as to where I think New Jersey lands. I promise I won’t edit this.

I have to imagine we rank high. New Jersey has a fiercely strong teachers’ union in the NJEA. A tenured teacher in this state isn’t quite metaphorically bulletproof but certainly bullet resistant, let’s say.

With the teacher shortage of the past few years, you’d also have to think even non-tenured teachers would have higher retention rates. The quality of education in New Jersey public schools has ranked consistently among the top three in the nation. While a stressful job, I would think that couldn’t happen without some job satisfaction for teachers here.

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So I'm going to guess we rank in the top five. Let’s dive in and see how far off I am.

Education researchers at MyExcelOnline ranked all 50 states to see which are most favorable for teachers by analyzing 19 factors. They looked at categories such as average wage, pupil-to-teacher ratio, commute time, teacher tenure, school safety, pension contribution, and several others.

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Turns out I’m right. New Jersey is the second-best state in the nation for teaching. Stellar student performance added to our rankings, and also New Jersey’s per-student spending stands at a whopping $24,719. Taxpayers may cringe, but it lends itself to a lot of teacher support. The study also cites New Jersey’s competitive wage and school safety record. All in all, the report says New Jersey is a great place for educators who want to work in a high-achieving, secure environment.

Who beat us? Only Massachusetts. Connecticut, North Dakota, and Virginia were third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

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Where do you not want to be a teacher? The three worst states were Nevada, Louisiana, and Florida.

NJ school districts with the highest median teacher salaries

These were the highest median teacher salaries during the 2022-23 school year budget, according to data compiled by the New Jersey Department of Education. We begin with districts whose median salaries are at least $95,000 and work our way up to the highest median salary.

Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5

Proposed school aid for NJ school districts in 2024-25

The state Department of Education announced proposed district-level school aid figures for the 2024-25 school year. They're listed below by county, ranked from the biggest increase from the current year to the biggest cuts (if any were made).

Gallery Credit: New Jersey 101.5

New Jersey high school graduation rates

The lists below show 4-year graduation rates for New Jersey public schools for the 2020-21 school year. The statewide graduation rate fell slightly, from 91% in 2019-20 to 90.6%.

The lists, which are sorted by county and include a separate list for charter schools, also include a second graduation rate, which excludes students whose special education IEPs allow them to qualify for diplomas despite not meeting typical coursework and attendance requirements.

Columns with an asterisk or 'N' indicate there was no data or it was suppressed to protect student privacy.

Gallery Credit: Michael Symons

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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