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FACT BRIEF

Do Wisconsin teachers make about $27,000 on average?

By Jacob Alabab-Moser
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NO

Wisconsin teachers' salaries average above $27,000, although teachers do sometimes have to pay for school supplies using their own money.

Wisconsin public school teachers made an average salary of $59,992 during the 2020-21 school year, ranking the state at 23rd in the nation for the highest average salary, according to official state figures published by the National Education Association. The average starting salary for Wisconsin teachers was $38,961.

In 2019, TurboTax did estimate that the average salary of Wisconsin preschool teachers was $27,000, according to tax returns from 162 preschool teachers.

Wisconsin public school teachers do not pay for all school supplies, but in 2011-12, they did spend an average of $380 (adjusted for inflation to 2018 dollars) that was not reimbursed, according to an Economic Policy Institute — below the national average of $459.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
National Education Association Educator pay and student spending: How does your state rank?
TurboTax Pre-school teacher salary in Wisconsin
Economic Policy Institute It’s the beginning of the school year and teachers are once again opening up their wallets to buy school supplies
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.