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Maine
Statistics on children, youth and families in Maine from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Maine Children's Alliance
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Why This Indicator Matters
Quality public education helps all students thrive. One component of a successful school system is that teachers are compensated fairly. While it is widely established that higher wages attract more productive individuals into teaching, a recent study also found that for existing teachers, a 10% an increase in wages improves student performance measurably.
What the data shows:
In Maine, starting teacher salaries lag behind all of the other New England states, and in 2021 Maine was ranked 43rd in the United States. National Educational Association Teacher Pay by state. The Maine state legislature passed a bill to raise minimum teacher salary for 2022-2023. Given inflation and workforce shortages and the starting pay in other New England states, higher salaries may be needed.
The 2022-2023 first year teacher average salary statewide was $41,023, nearly $2,000 more than the previous year of $39,195. The top starting salaries were in York, ($43,435), Cumberland ($42,950) and Knox ($42,384). The lowest starting salaries for first-year teachers were in Franklin ($40,000, Penobscot ($40,094) and Somerset ($40,100).
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What the data shows:
In Maine, starting teacher salaries lag behind all of the other New England states, and in 2021 Maine was ranked 43rd in the United States. National Educational Association Teacher Pay by state. The Maine state legislature passed a bill to raise minimum teacher salary for 2022-2023. Given inflation and workforce shortages and the starting pay in other New England states, higher salaries may be needed.
The 2022-2023 first year teacher average salary statewide was $41,023, nearly $2,000 more than the previous year of $39,195. The top starting salaries were in York, ($43,435), Cumberland ($42,950) and Knox ($42,384). The lowest starting salaries for first-year teachers were in Franklin ($40,000, Penobscot ($40,094) and Somerset ($40,100).
Definition and Source
PROVIDER
Definition
The starting average first-year teacher salary is based on contracts submitted to Maine's educational union called the Educational Association (MEA). The definition of starting teacher salary is the amount a district has agreed in their contract to pay a first-year teacher by with a Bachelor's Degree and no experience teaching. The average of the county is computed by averaging the contracted starting salaries by district, without regard to how many teachers were hired at that salary.
Data Source
Notes
The year 2023 refers to the school year 2022-2023. Not every district submitted information to the MEA for every year, so the data is based only on districts that did.
These are unweighted averages. This means that it is the average of the counties in the districts starting salaries, not the average pay of all the first-year teachers hired. For example, if a county had two districts and one hired five teachers at $60,000 each and the second school hired one teacher at $30,000, the unweighted average would ($60,000 +$30,000) divided by 2 = $45,000 and not (5* $60,000)+(1*30,000)/6 = $55,000.
These are unweighted averages. This means that it is the average of the counties in the districts starting salaries, not the average pay of all the first-year teachers hired. For example, if a county had two districts and one hired five teachers at $60,000 each and the second school hired one teacher at $30,000, the unweighted average would ($60,000 +$30,000) divided by 2 = $45,000 and not (5* $60,000)+(1*30,000)/6 = $55,000.
Last Updated
October 2023