Is Minnesota a Good Place for Teachers? Let’s Find Out

Teachers are one of those professions that don't get enough credit. They're educating our next generation, that's a huge responsibility! I also can't imagine having to corral a group of 20-30 kids and make them all listen to you.

ALSO READ: 8 of the Coolest Things Made in Minnesota

How Underpaid are Teachers in 2025?

Anyway, teachers do amazing work and are definitely underpaid. The National Education Association says, adjusted for inflation, teachers are getting paid about $3,728 less per year than they were 16 years ago.

Of course, some states are better than others when it comes to things like pay, which is one of the variables taken into account when WalletHub determined the best and worst states for teachers for 2025.

On top of pay, they also considered things like teachers’ income growth potential, the pupil-teacher ratio, and the public-school spending per student.

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The Best States for Teachers in 2025

Minnesota ranked highly on the list, but we did not make the top 5. The top 5 states that are the best for teachers are:

5. Illinois

4. New York

3. Washington

2. Utah

1. Virginia

The Worst States for Teachers in 2025

On the other end of the spectrum, the 5 worst states for teachers are:

5. South Dakota

4. New Hampshire

3. Maine

2. Montana

1. Hawaii

Minnesota is a Good State for Teachers

Even though Minnesota didn't make the top 5, we still landed in a respectable spot, coming in as the 8th best state for teachers.

Our best areas were in the opportunity and competition categories. Where we fell a little short was in the academic and work environment categories.

As for our neighboring states:

Wisconsin is named the 24th best

Iowa ranked 43rd, or the 9th-worst state for teachers

South Dakota, we already mentioned, they're the 5th-worst state for teachers (47 overall)

and North Dakota took number 32.