The wage penalty teachers face in comparison to other college graduates hit a record high in 2018, the Economic Policy Institute reports, with teacher pay falling short by 21.4%. That penalty has grown from 5.3% in 1993 and 12% in 2004, but maybe the most striking thing is that, adjusted for inflation, teachers’ average weekly pay actually dropped by $21 between 1996 and 2018.
![Teacher weekly wages have not grown since 1996 Teacher weekly wages have not grown since 1996](https://images.dailykos.com/images/672090/large/teacherwagepenalty2018.png?1556909997)
This blog was originally published at Daily Kos on May 4, 2019. Reprinted with permission.
About the Author: Laura Clawson is labor editor at Daily Kos.