IN LATE JANUARY, the nonpartisan Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) issued a new report, “California Teacher Pay: Decades of Falling Behind.” The report found that over the last four-and-a-half decades, the average weekly wage of teachers in California increased by 26.3%, while those of non-teacher college graduates rose by 70%. When the high cost of living in California is considered, teacher wages have been flat since 2003.

Sylvia Allegretto, a CEPR senior economist and author of the report, estimates the average weekly wage for California public school teachers in 2022 was $1,844, while other college graduates’ average weekly wage was $2,847.

The pay gap “really influences the teacher shortages, the retaining of current teachers, the recruitment of future teachers into the profession,” said Allegretto at the kickoff press conference. “Here in California … the high cost of living is a serious problem. The complexity of these challenges calls for a massive coordinated effort.”

At a “We Can’t Wait” press conference held by San Jose Teachers Association, SJTA President Renata Sanchez drove home the point.

“My mom taught for 37 years. She was able to purchase a home and comfortably raise a family of five on a teacher’s salary,” Sanchez said. “I’ve been teaching for 17 years and I cannot afford rent for a single-bedroom apartment by myself without commuting for hours away each day…. The educator wage gap is wider than it has ever been.”