Teacher (K-12) Salary Rankings: Key Insights
Our global salary rankings for Teacher (K-12)s cover 42 countries, revealing significant variations in compensation across different economies. The highest-paying country, United States, offers an estimated salary of $71,500 USD per year — roughly 9x more than India, the lowest-paying country at $7,943 USD.
These salary differences are driven by multiple factors including local economic conditions, cost of living, labor supply and demand, industry maturity, and government wage policies. Countries with strong economies and high demand for Teacher (K-12)s tend to offer higher compensation, though this doesn't always translate to better purchasing power.
Beyond Nominal Salary: Purchasing Power Matters
While nominal salary rankings provide a useful overview, they don't account for differences in cost of living. Our PPP-adjusted figures offer a more realistic picture of what Teacher (K-12)s can actually afford in each country. In some cases, countries with lower nominal salaries may rank higher when adjusted for purchasing power.
The Big Mac Index column provides an intuitive, everyday measure of purchasing power. Developed by The Economist, it uses the price of a McDonald's Big Mac to compare the real value of currencies and salaries across countries. A higher Big Mac count means your salary stretches further in terms of everyday purchases.
How We Calculate These Rankings
These rankings are based on publicly available data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), OECD average wage statistics, World Bank purchasing power parity data, and The Economist's Big Mac Index. We use the U.S. salary for Teacher (K-12)s as a baseline ($65,000 USD) and adjust it for each country using wage ratios derived from OECD and World Bank data, along with occupation-specific sector multipliers.
These estimates are intended as approximate benchmarks for international salary comparison. Actual compensation varies based on experience level, specific employer, city or region, education, certifications, and current market conditions. We update our data periodically to reflect the latest available statistics.