Georgia Public Teacher Salary Scale

Georgia's teachers have some of the highest spending power in their profession.

The Georgia Department of Education mandates that all public schools pay its teachers at minimum levels commensurate with their educational credentials and teaching experience. Individual districts are free to pay premium salaries above state minimums to attract and retain higher-quality teachers or to compensate teachers who live in cities with a cost of living higher than the state average.

Georgia Minimum Teacher Salary

The Georgia Department of Education calculates minimum teacher salaries as a function of the number of years a teacher has spent in the profession as well as how much education beyond the minimum requirement, a bachelor's degree, needed to teach. Thus, teachers' salaries improve with tenure or additional education. An entry-level teacher with a bachelor's degree earns a minimum of $31,586 as of the 2010-2011 school year, while a teacher with 21 or more years in a classroom and a doctorate earns $72,530.

State Average Salary

Teachers in Georgia earn median annual salaries that range between $51,280 to $53,670 depending upon the level at which they teach as of May 2009, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Georgia State University's Andrew Young School of Policy Studies estimates the statewide teacher's salary as $51,323 as of 2008. This is equivalent to a teacher with a master's degree and 13 or 14 years of experience in the classroom on the state's minimum salary schedule.

Starting Salaries and Salary Comparison

Because many districts supplement their salary scales with additional payment beyond the state minimums, first-year teachers may expect to earn slightly more than the mandated minimum for their credentials. First-year teachers receive an average starting salary of $34,442 as of February 2011, according to Teacher Portal. That figure is $2,856, or 9 percent, above the state minimum salary. Although Georgia teachers' salaries are low when compared dollar-to-dollar with other state average salaries, they're the third-highest in the nation in terms of real earning power when adjusted for cost of living, according to Teacher Portal.

Salary Disparity

Although the state sets salary minimums for teachers, that hasn't eliminated large gaps between the average salaries between districts with the highest salaries and those with the lowest salaries. In 2008, the average salary for teachers in the 10 highest-paying districts was nearly $10,000 more than the average salary in the state's lowest paying districts, according to the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. This gap was attributed to a combination of higher base salaries in some districts and districts with a higher concentration of more qualified teachers.

References

• Georgia Department of Education: State Salary Schedule 2010-2011
• Georgia State University, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies: Variation in Teacher Salaries in Georgia
• Teacher Portal: Georgia Teacher Salary
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: Teachers - Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle and High School