What Teachers Make in These Countries

Few things are as important to a child’s education as the quality of their teachers, with the public school teacher playing an essential role in the development of any democratic society. Despite this, the typical teacher salary is frequently lower than many comparable professionals — including here in the United States, where issues over teachers’ pay have sparked a number of strikes and protests across the country. But how does the U.S. stack up against other industrialized nations in terms of how much teachers make?

Using data collected by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which has been converted to U.S. dollars, you can paint a clearer picture of teachers’ pay around the world. The differences between countries could reflect a lot of different factors — from lower costs of living to major differences in public policy or even just different teacher benefits beyond the average teacher salary — but they still provide a snapshot into what life might be like teaching abroad.

So, here’s a closer look at what other countries pay teachers and how that compares to teacher salaries in the United States.

Australia

Primary, Starting Pay: $41,798.40
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $41,800.30
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $41,798.40
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $41,798.40

Australia’s teacher pay appears consistent across all levels with one curious exception of a lower secondary teacher receiving $1.90 more each year than the $41,798.40 standard at the other levels. Whatever reason for that (extremely) slight difference, it’s evened out over time: Teachers with 15 years’ experience receive an average of $59,568 a year at all four levels of schooling.

Brazil

Primary, Starting Pay: $13,971.40
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $13,971.40
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $13,971.40
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $13,971.40

Brazil’s consistent starting pay of just under $14,000 a year for each level represents the lowest starting pay for teachers included in this list — with the lone exception of early childhood educators in Lithuania. That said, it’s worth noting that the cost of living in Brazil is over 40 percent lower than it is in the United States, with rent coming in over 70 percent lower. So, Brazilian teachers will most likely be able to stretch that money farther than you could here. And for context, the minimum wage in Brazil is a mere $2 an hour.

Canada

Primary, Starting Pay: $39,222
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $39,222
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $39,222
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: n/a

The starting pay for America’s neighbors to the north is under $40,000 a year at each level, but that’s just where they start at. The pay scale remains consistent across all levels when comparing teachers with 15 years’ experience, but at that point the average salary reaches $65,474.

What allows Canada to afford teacher salaries on the higher side of the spectrum? It could be the money they’re saving on healthcare costs.

Chile

Primary, Starting Pay: $23,428.60
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $23,428.60
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $24,028.20
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $23,428.60

Chile is about 30 percent cheaper than the United States in terms of cost of living, so the starting wages of about $23,000 to $24,000 will spend the equivalent of $30,000 a year or more there. That’s still relatively low, though, and it appears to stay that way as teachers 15 years into their careers are only earning $34,000 to $35,000 a year. Chileans, however, do pay less than Americans when it comes to taxes, which might help offset the low wages.

Denmark

Primary, Starting Pay: $44,918.70
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $45,134.40
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $42,841.20
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $41,273.70

Scandinavian countries are generally regarded as spending lavishly to fund public services, so an average starting teacher salary in excess of $40,000 a year shouldn’t be surprising. It is notable, though, that teachers with 15 years’ experience are still only earning between $50,000 and $55,000 a year, well below what comparable professionals in Canada can claim.

Estonia

Primary, Starting Pay: $19,529.40
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $19,529.40
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $19,529.40
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: n/a

Teachers in Estonia start at the equivalent of under $20,000, which is among the lower results of the countries included here. And although the cost of living is about 25 percent less than it is in the United States, it’s still likely that plenty of teachers in this Baltic nation are struggling to make ends meet. Underpaid or not, the teachers in Estonia appear to be doing some excellent work: Measures of science, math and reading literacy gauged by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show Estonia scoring among the top nations in science, math and reading proficiency among 15-year-olds.

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France

Primary, Starting Pay: $29,515.50
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $31,002.70
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $31,002.70
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $29,515.50

Secondary school teachers in France start at just over $30,000 a year, regardless of level, whereas primary school and early childhood educators earn about $1,500 less. That starting pay isn’t especially competitive, and it doesn’t grow very much as you gain experience: On average, primary school and early childhood teachers in France earn just $35,963 after 15 years on the job, and secondary school teachers take in about $37,450 .

Germany

Primary, Starting Pay: $56,534.70
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $63,554.70
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $63,865.80
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: n/a

Germany’s teacher salary appears to indicate a country that places a high value on its educators. Starting pay for primary school teachers clears $55,000, and both lower and secondary school teacher salaries exceed $60,000. And the numbers keep growing, too, with those three levels earning $70,693, $76,838 and $81,260 once employees hit 15 years on the job.

Greece

Primary, Starting Pay: $19,374.30
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $19,374.30
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $19.374.30
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $19,374.30

Given Greece’s recent struggles with fiscal policy and austerity, the fact that its teachers start at under $20,000 a year might be unavoidable in this Mediterranean nation. One area that could help them cope is rent. Rent prices in Greece are more than 70 percent below the levels in the United States.

Hungary

Primary, Starting Pay: $14,226.90
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $15,751.20
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $15,741.20
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $14,226.90

Much like France, beginning teachers in Hungary earn the same at all levels of secondary school and primary school, and early childhood educators are also paid on the same scale. Hungary offers some of the lowest starting pay for its teachers of the countries included on this list, but it is worth noting that it’s one of the cheapest countries to live in.

Iceland

Primary, Starting Pay: $35,755.90
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $35,755.90
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $30,347.30
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $34,394.20

One notable quirk to teacher salaries in Iceland is how upper secondary school teachers are earning a full 15 percent — or about $5,000 — less in their starting salary than their counterparts at lower secondary schools and primary schools. The only other country where starting salaries are higher for lower secondary educators is Denmark, but there it’s only a difference of 5.1 percent.

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Israel

Primary, Starting Pay: $20,050.70
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $20,158.80
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $20,665.70
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $23,000.60

Israel appears to understand how important early childhood education is. They’re the only country included here where early childhood teachers earn the most in starting pay of any of the four categories.

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Italy

Primary, Starting Pay: $28,513.80
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $30,738.80
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $30,738.80
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $28,513.80

Italy is one country that is not paying its teachers well in the context of the nations included here. Starting pay hovers around $30,000 a year, while salaries 15-years on increase to just under $35,000 a year for primary school and around $38,000 for secondary school. These wages come in a nation where the cost of living is essentially in line with that of the U.S.

Japan

Primary, Starting Pay: $30,631
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $30,631
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $30,631
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: n/a

Teacher salaries in Japan are fairly low, especially when you consider that cost of living there is 13.46 percent higher than it is in the U.S. However, if you’re assuming that equates to a failure to adequately invest in education in the Land of the Rising Sun, the outcomes do not support that: Japan scored in the top five for science and math and the top 10 for reading in the most recent PISA. And, salaries appear to rise considerably over time. Teachers with 15 years of experience all earn more than $50,000, or almost 70 percent above their starting wages.

Korea

Primary, Starting Pay: $30,395.10
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $30,454.90
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $29,737.60
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $30,395.10

Korea’s pay scale appears fairly similar to that of neighboring Japan. Starting salaries for teachers at all levels are about $30,000 a year, rising to over $53,000 for teachers who have 15 years on the job. Despite slightly higher wages for teachers, Korea’s scores on the most-recent PISA — although still very strong — were lower than Japan’s across the board.

Lithuania

Primary, Starting Pay: $19,385.20
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $19,385.20
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $19,385.20
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $12,572.80

While the starting wages for Lithuanian teachers might appear plenty troubling to many, it’s the salaries of teachers with 15 years of experience that are especially low. Primary and secondary school teachers are only earning a little over $300 more after a decade and a half of teaching: $19,696. And the $12,572.80 starting salary for early childhood educators — the lowest salary earned by teachers at any level in any country listed here — only improves to $13,842 over the same time frame — the second-lowest salary at any level. The low salaries are one reason why Lithuania is an expensive country to live in.

Luxembourg

Primary, Starting Pay: $70,192.30
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $79,551.20
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $79,551.20
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $70,192.30

You can’t truly put a price on the value of a good teacher, but they appear to be doing what they can in Luxembourg, where teachers are paid way more than you might initially think. Starting primary school and early education educators earn just over $70,000 a year there, while secondary school teachers take in almost $80,000. And those generous starting salaries don’t mean raises are reduced, either: Teachers at each level are earning in excess of six figures by the time they hit 15 years of experience.

Mexico

Primary, Starting Pay: $19,893.40
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $25,400.90
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $49,286
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $19,893.40

No nation in this list has more pronounced differences in how teachers than Mexico, where upper-level secondary school teachers earn almost double that of lower-level ones and more than double primary school and early childhood educators.

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Netherlands

Primary, Starting Pay: $38,922.50
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $41,308.60
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $41,308.60
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $38,922.50

Starting pay for teachers in the Netherlands appears to be fairly modest, but greater riches come with more experience. Secondary school teachers with 15 years’ experience earn in excess of $70,000 a year. Residents of the Netherlands, however, pay more in taxes than the average American.

Norway

Primary, Starting Pay: $39,585.20
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $39,585.20
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $47,210.90
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $35,577.10

Although the starting salaries for Norwegian teachers are largely similar to Dutch teachers, they differ by much larger amounts after 15 years on the job. Higher-level secondary school teachers with 15 years of experience earn salaries that have inched up to $52,171 — a gain of just 10.5 percent over a decade and a half.

Poland

Primary, Starting Pay: $15,599.80
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $15,599.80
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $15,599.80
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $15,599.80

The cost of living in Poland is over 40 percent lower than it is in the U.S., meaning that while starting salaries are low, teachers can buy a lot more with that money than you might expect. What’s more, those salaries all jump by almost 65 percent to $25,553 after 15 years on the job.

Spain

Primary, Starting Pay: $38,986.70
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $43,565.10
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $43,565.10
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $38,986.70

Teachers in Spain also earn around $40,000 a year when they start out, but they don’t see major increases in that pay over time. Primary school and secondary school teacher wages grow to just $45,069 and $50,257, respectively, for teachers with 15 years of experience.

Switzerland

Primary, Starting Pay: $56,350.80
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $63,308
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $71,248.90
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $52,743.30

It would be impossible to say Switzerland is neutral on the issue of teacher pay as the Alpine nation has starting salaries above $50,000 a year for primary and early childhood educators, over $60,000 a year for lower secondary school teachers and over $70,000 for upper secondary school teachers. Like Mexico, there’s considerably more pay for teachers working with older students, even though it isn’t nearly as pronounced as it is in Mexico.

United States

Primary, Starting Pay: $39,183.30
Lower Secondary, Starting Pay: $39,707.10
Upper Secondary, Starting Pay: $40,516.70
Early Childhood Education, Starting Pay: $38,635

Teachers can expect to earn a little under or a little over $40,000 a year when they first start out in the U.S. That starting wage grows to over $60,000 among teachers with 15 years’ experience, including over $63,000 for upper-level secondary school educators — more than the national median wage.

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Methodology: All data sourced from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Dollar figures have been converted to U.S. dollars.