Teacher salaries: These states paid the most in 2017

Teachers in some of the highest paid states make nearly twice what their colleagues do in the states that pay the least, according to an Asbury Park Press analysis.

And in some cases, the gaps in average teacher pay can be as much as $25,000 for neighboring states.

Teacher salaries — as well as demands for increases in overall education funding — have fueled protests in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona and Kentucky, which you can learn more about in the video at the top of the page.

The Asbury Park Press analyzed salary data for pre-K through 12 teachers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES and ranked the states by the average salary. The salaries are from May 2017, the most recent data available.

The Press compared those salaries to U.S News & World Report education and affordability rankings for states in 2018.

LAST YEAR'S RANKING: These states pay the teachers the most. Where does your state fall?

Here's a look at the best and the worst states for teacher pay. Check out all states in an interactive map at the bottom of the page.

Highest paid teachers

10. Oregon, $63,074

Oregon is in the bottom 10 states in U.S. News' affordability ranking and the bottom half of the rankings for pre-K to 12 education.

9. Maryland, $63,268

Maryland, which has more than 80,000 teachers, is in the top half of the education rankings, but the bottom half of the affordability rankings.

More: US Postal Service Salaries: Who gets paid most? How much is it costing you? Find out on Data Universe

8. Rhode Island, $64,261

Rhode Island, which has about 13,000 teachers, come in the top 10 of the education rankings but is one of the bottom 10 states in terms of affordability.

7. Virginia, 66,389

Virginia is in the middle of the rankings for affordability but is in the top half of the states for its education ranking.

6. New Jersey, $68,294

The Garden State fell one ranking in average salary from last year. It's still among the top 5 states for pre-K to 12 education — and near the bottom of the list of affordable states.

More: How much of your NJ property tax bill goes to schools?

5. Massachusetts, $69,219

Massachusetts edged out New Jersey to join the top 5 states for teacher pay. It's also the best state for pre-K to 12 education, according to U.S. News' rankings. It's also in the bottom 5 for affordability.

4. California, $71,666

California is one of the country's largest states and the largest pool of teachers with 422,000 pre-K to 12 teachers. It's also one of the most expensive places in the country to live, coming in behind Hawaii, the least affordable state. It's also in the bottom 10 of U.S. News' education ranking.

3. Connecticut, $74,806

Connecticut does well in education rankings, coming in near the top of the U.S. News rankings. It's also near the bottom of the affordability rankings.

2. Alaska, $76,134

The average pay for Alaska's roughly 10,000 teachers is higher than most of the country, but that doesn't necessarily mean that money will go as far in the country's northernmost state. Alaska among of the most costly places to live. Alaska also falls among the bottom of U.S. News' education ranking.

1. New York, $76,680

New York leapfrogged Alaska as the state with the highest paid teachers. It's also among the least affordable states and comes in the middle of the pack in education rankings, according to U.S. News rankings.

Lowest paid teachers

41. Alabama, $48,523

Alabama, which has more than 54,000 teachers, falls in the bottom half of the list in terms of average teacher salaries but is in the top half of the rankings for affordability.

42. Arkansas, $47,858

Arkansas falls in the bottom half of states in U.S. News' education rankings but is in the top half for affordability.

43. Florida, $47,744

Florida, which is one of the states with the most teachers at more than 215,000, is in the bottom half of states for both education and affordability rankings.

44. Idaho, $47,025

Idaho is in the middle of all states for education and affordability, coming in 25th in both rankings.

45. West Virginia, $44,470

West Virginia, which led the way for the teacher strikes across the country, was in the bottom 10 states for pre-K to 12 education and in the top 10 for affordability in U.S. News' rankings. These numbers do not include the 5 percent raise teachers gained during negotiations.

More: When teachers close the schools in protest, what happens to the kids?

46. Mississippi, $44,364

Mississippi ranks in the bottom 5 states in pre-K to 12 education — despite ranking high in the measure of the quality of its pre-K education. It's among top half of states for affordability.

47. Arizona, $44,113

Arizona teachers, which hosted its own recent teacher protests, ranks in the bottom 5 states for pre-K to 12 education. It's in the middle of the rankings for affordability.

More: This Arizona teacher doubled his salary by getting a teaching job in California

48. North Carolina, $43,897

North Carolina is in the top half of states in both the education and state affordability rankings.

49. South Dakota, $40,790

South Dakota is among the top states for affordability and ranks in the top half of the education rankings.

50. Oklahoma, $40,201

Oklahoma teacher started their walkout on April 1, demanding both teacher raises and overall increases in education funding. The state ranks in the bottom 10 in pre-K to 12 education. It's among the top 10 states for affordability.

Here's a list of all states and their salaries based on the May 2017 BLS data.

1. New York, $76,680

2. Alaska, $76,134

3. Connecticut, $74,806

4. California, $71,666

5. Massachusetts, $69,219

6. New Jersey, $68,294

7. Virginia, $66,389

8. Rhode Island, $64,261

9. Maryland, $63,268

10. Oregon, $63,074

11. Pennsylvania, $62,062

12. Minnesota, $61,389

13. Illinois, $61,132

14. Michigan, $60,264

15. Washington, $59,483

16. Vermont, $58,578

17. Ohio, $57,377

18. Hawaii, $57,053

19. Wyoming, $56,326

20. Delaware, $56,282

21. Nebraska, $56,061

22. Texas, $55,310

23. Nevada, $54,893

24. New Mexico, $54,690

25. New Hampshire, $54,642

26. Wisconsin, $53,408

27. Georgia, $53,115

28. Utah, $52,956

29. Kentucky, $52,806

30. Iowa, $51,916

31. Maine, $51,580

32. Colorado, $50,660

33. North Dakota, $50,572

34. Missouri, $50,533

35. South Carolina, $50,488

36. Montana, $49,751

37. Kansas, $49,571

38. Indiana, $49,382

39. Louisiana, $49,079

40. Tennessee, $48,845

41. Alabama, $48,523

42. Arkansas, $47,858

43. Florida, $47,744

44. Idaho, $47,025

45. West Virginia, $44,470

46. Mississippi, $44,365

47. Arizona, $44,113

48. North Carolina, $43,897

49. South Dakota, $40,790

50. Oklahoma, $40,201

Susanne Cervenka: @scervenka; 732-643-4229; scervenka@gannettnj.com