The line of work Americans are in could impact living situations, as many teachers across the country have trouble affording shelter.
A study from Redfin found that teachers on average can only afford 47.9 percent of rents for apartments that are located within a reasonable distance from their schools. While that’s up from the 40.7 percent figure last year – it gets worse for those in the market for a home. Within commuting distance from their schools, the average teacher can only afford 14.3 percent of homes for sale. That’s barely a change from 14.4 percent last year and down significantly from 39.1 percent in 2019.
But not all areas are created equally. Some will be more affordable than others. The worst offender is Miami. An average teacher in the city can just afford a stunning 0.2 percent of the apartments within commuting distance of their school, according to Redfin. The other most unaffordable markets include Orlando (6.7 percent), San Jose (9.8 percent), Boston (15.7 percent), and New York (20. 4 percent).
So why does Miami have such a low rate? As you might guess, income is indicative. The median salary in Miami tumbled nearly 12 percent year-over-year to $53,297 in 2023. That was the biggest dip among all 50 metro areas. Teacher employment levels dropped 10.7 percent, with some moving out of the area or getting out of the industry in general, Redfin said.
Overall, Florida ranks last among the 50 states in teacher pay. Among metros, Miami ranks fourth lowest and Orlando is number two.
For context, only three other metros next to Miami experienced a decline in teacher pay in 2023. This includes Kansas, City Missouri (2.5 percent), Buffalo, (1.8 percent), and Detroit (0.1 percent).
Although Buffalo teachers saw a drop, the city among metro areas was ranked as the second most affordable place to buy a home within commuting distance from their school, lagging just behind Cleveland.
For renting, Portland, Oregon is the most affordable place for teachers, as the average instructor can afford 91.3 percent of the apartments.
“Portland has some of the highest teacher pay in the country,” Redfin said.
“The median teacher salary there was $95,486 as of 2023. That’s roughly $30,000 more than the national median, and is up 16% from a year earlier—the second biggest increase among the metros Redfin analyzed. The Portland Association of Teachers, a union representing public school teachers, last year negotiated a 13.8% cumulative cost-of-living increase over three years. Asking rents have also been falling in Portland; they dropped 3.8% year over year to a median of $1,799 in July.”
The next affordable markets for teachers renting are Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Houston.
Meanwhile, California is the toughest place for teachers to purchase a home. It owns three of the most expensive metro areas in the country. The average teacher in San Jose, for example, can only afford 0.1 percent of homes for sale near their school. The issue in the city is the cost of housing, rather than salaries, as the average price of a home is $1.4 million. Median teacher pay is the third highest among the 50 metros at $100,805 in San Jose.
The next least affordable metro areas for homes are Salt Lake City (0.2 percent), San Diego (0.4 percent), Los Angeles (0.8 percent), and Raleigh, NC (0.8 percent).
Overall, the median salary for teachers nationally rose 3.8 percent in 2023 to $64,266 and outpaced the growth of rents. However, Redfin noted that pay has not kept pace with inflation; when adjusted teachers are making five percent less compared to a decade ago.
“The small improvement in housing affordability for teachers who rent is only a drop in the bucket,” said Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari.
“Homeownership remains out of reach for a lot of educators, who, unlike many workers today, don’t have the flexibility to work remotely from somewhere more affordable. Building affordable housing near schools should be a priority for U.S. policymakers, but that’s only half the battle, as teacher salaries have faced years of underinvestment.”