Michigan Teacher Salaries

It's a widely held assumption that teachers don't earn much money. Fortunately for prospective educators, that assumption often doesn't hold water. The real salary situation is much more complex and subject to a great deal of geographic variation. Michigan teacher salaries, for example, averaged $57,958 in 2009-2010, according to the National Education Association, about $2,500 more than the national average but about $13,000 less than the highest-paid teachers, in New York State.

In order to truly evaluate Michigan teacher salary data, however, it's important to consider the cost of living. And on that measurement, Michigan teachers do quite well: median monthly housing costs for homeowners are 12 percent lower than the national average.⁽¹⁾

Not only that, but Michigan teachers are eligible for competitive retirement benefits, including pension plans and health insurance through the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System.⁽²⁾ Add to that the fact that teachers enjoy famously long vacations, and suddenly the compensation for being a teacher looks very attractive indeed.

Fringe benefits and cost of living aren't the only factors affecting Michigan teacher salaries, though. What grade level you teach can also have an effect on your earnings. The annual 2009 average for kindergarten teachers, for example, was $50,500; for special education teachers at that level, the annual salary was $56,830. Secondary school teachers in Michigan earned an average of $52,110.⁽³⁾

Salaries also vary quite a bit depending on where you live, reflecting cost-of-living differences. Here is a sampling of Michigan teacher salaries at the secondary school level in five major metropolitan areas:⁽⁴⁾

• Ann Arbor: $57,320
• Detroit: $48,580
• Grand Rapids: $50,750
• Lansing/East Lansing: $53,250
• Warren: $58,800

Whether your scene is urban Detroit or the natural beauty of the Great Lakes, Michigan has a lot to offer would-be teachers. Start researching teacher education programs today!

Sources:
(1) 2009 American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau
(2) Michigan Office of Retirement Services
(3) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth
(4) BLS