For 2022, the average teacher’s pay in North Carolina is $56,381! See the chart above for teachers pay and benefits from 2011 to 2020. The most remarkable data is the pension plan. Also note the “Total Compensation” number at the bottom right corner.
North Carolina teachers have a very “rich” defined benefit pension plan. Teachers can retire after 20 years and are vested in the plan after 5 years. Defined benefit pension plans were ended for corporate America years ago. Companies could no longer afford to fund these “rich” plans.
Regarding pay: Teachers in North Carolina work 175 days. That is 175 days of instruction or about 35 weeks. So, for instructional days, their average pay is $56,381 or $1,610/week. If teachers worked 48 weeks a year (4 weeks off/year) their pay would be $77,322 plus all the above benefits.
In NC, teachers get 11 paid holidays, 19 workdays, 10 annual leave days, 4-5 early release days, and about 9.5 weeks off in the summer. In summary, NC teachers work about 67% of the school year. I have 3 daughters working in corporate America that work 49 weeks a year and earn less than $77,000. And their benefits are not equal to NC teachers.
Yet, we continue to hear about low pay for teachers. I disagree! Counting all the benefits, I think teachers are well paid. Period!
PS-teachers work about 7 hours/day. Most begin their day at 8:30am and end at 3:30pm. Most teach 5 classes per day, each 45-50 minutes, or 250 minutes/day, about 4.2 hours of actual teaching per day. My daughters work 8.5-9 hours a day!
PSS-I don’t care about how NC teachers’ pay compares to other states or the national average. Companies located in NC don’t pay their employees based on similar jobs in other states. Think about it! Do HV/AC technicians in NC demand that they be paid similar to technicians in Wisconsin???
High Truths and Low Lies 