Best States for Middle School Teachers in 2026: California Ranks #1 as Washington Offers Top Pay

Across the top 10 states in LaborCove’s 2026 rankings for middle school teachers (except special and career/technical education), salaries and employment counts vary in ways that may matter for relocation or job-search planning. On pay, several ranked states have median annual salaries that are well above the national median of $64,370. Washington has the highest median salary in the top 10 at $102,140, followed by California at $98,950 and New York at $94,840. Connecticut and Rhode Island, at $93,610 and $92,760 respectively, also stand above the national figure. Employment size differs sharply among the ranked states. Texas has the largest employment count in the top 10 at 80,160, while California and New York employ 37,300 and 38,670 middle school teachers, respectively. At the smaller end of the top 10, Rhode Island has 2,370 employed teachers in this occupation. The LaborCove Geography Scores show that the highest salary does not automatically lead to the highest overall ranking. Washington’s top salary coincides with a Geography Score of 58.37 and a #4 rank, while California ranks #1 with a lower median salary than Washington but a higher Geography Score of 69.12. New York also ranks ahead of Washington despite having a lower median salary. Nationally, middle school teachers in this occupation have a median annual salary of $64,370 and employment of 620,090. The occupation’s projected national employment growth rate of -2.0% provides context for the state-level results but is not a state or metro forecast. Within that national picture, the top 10 states here combine different levels of salary, employment, and Geography Scores that teachers can weigh against their own priorities.

For 2026, LaborCove reports a national median annual salary of $64,370 for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education. National employment for this occupation stands at 620,090. The projected national employment growth rate for this occupation is -2.0%. This figure describes expected change across the United States as a whole and is not a projection for any individual state or metro area. Against that backdrop, the top-ranked states in this Insight can be viewed as specific points within the broader national labor market, each with its own median salary, employment count, and LaborCove Geography Score.

Among the top 10 LaborCove states, Washington has the highest median annual salary for this occupation at $102,140. California follows with a median salary of $98,950, and New York’s median salary is $94,840. Connecticut and Rhode Island also show median salaries above $90,000, at $93,610 and $92,760 respectively. Massachusetts reports a median salary of $89,450, while New Jersey stands at $78,770, Pennsylvania at $77,930, and Ohio at $77,090. Within the top 10, Texas is the only state with a median salary below the national median of $64,370, with a reported median of $63,390. This contrast illustrates that a state can appear in the top rankings based on its overall Geography Score even when its median salary is close to the national level.

Employment counts for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education, vary widely across the top-ranked states. Texas has the largest employment count among the top 10, at 80,160 positions. New York and California also have relatively large employment counts within this group, at 38,670 and 37,300 respectively. Ohio employs 30,450 workers in this occupation, while New Jersey and Pennsylvania report 23,650 and 22,720. At the smaller end of the top 10, Washington has 10,510 employed teachers in this occupation, Massachusetts has 16,570, Connecticut has 7,920, and Rhode Island has 2,370. These figures show that states in the top 10 can range from relatively large to relatively small employment counts while still achieving strong Geography Scores.

LaborCove’s Geography Score is the basis for the state rankings in this Insight. California holds the #1 rank with a Geography Score of 69.12, followed by New York at #2 with a score of 65.89, and Texas at #3 with a score of 59.24. Washington shows that the highest salary does not automatically produce the top rank. Its median salary of $102,140 is the highest in the top 10, but its Geography Score of 58.37 places it at #4. Massachusetts, with a median salary of $89,450, ranks #5 with a Geography Score of 54.03. Further down the list, New Jersey ranks #6 with a Geography Score of 48.46, Ohio ranks #7 at 48.41, Connecticut ranks #8 at 47.23, Rhode Island ranks #9 at 46.84, and Pennsylvania ranks #10 at 46.62. These results indicate that a state’s salary, employment, and other factors captured in the Geography Score together shape its position in the rankings.

California, New York, and Texas exemplify different combinations of salary, employment, and Geography Score among the top three states. California’s median salary of $98,950 and employment of 37,300 pair with the highest Geography Score in the group at 69.12. New York’s median salary of $94,840 and employment of 38,670 correspond to a Geography Score of 65.89 and the #2 rank. Texas, ranked #3, has the largest employment count in the top 10 at 80,160 but the lowest median salary in the group at $63,390, slightly below the national median of $64,370. Its Geography Score of 59.24 still places it ahead of Washington in the overall rankings, even though Washington’s median salary is higher. Teachers considering these states can see that higher-ranked locations in LaborCove’s system do not always have the highest pay or the largest employment counts. Instead, each of the top 10 states presents a distinctive combination of the supplied metrics that can be weighed against individual professional and personal priorities.

LaborCove builds its rankings for middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education, using authoritative labor-market data. For this Insight, we use the national median annual salary, national employment, and the national projected employment growth rate as overall context, and we compare states using their median annual salary, employment, and LaborCove Geography Score. The Geography Score is LaborCove’s composite measure that supports the state rankings shown here. While specific scoring weights are not disclosed, the states with higher Geography Scores rank higher in these results. The national projected employment growth rate of -2.0% applies to this occupation across the United States as a whole and is not used as a state-level or metro-level growth estimate. These rankings provide a structured view of how the top states compare on the supplied metrics, but they do not capture personal factors such as individual school preferences, licensing pathways, or non-wage considerations. Teachers should interpret the rankings as one input among many when evaluating where to work.