Study: This is the 8th best place to be a teacher in the country

If you want to teach, teaching in this region is pretty good deal, according to a new analysis of the “Best Places to Be a Teacher.”

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) ranked eighth in the nation, among 132 MSAs reviewed.

The study was done by smartasset.com, which bills itself as “committed to bringing you the most accurate and actionable advice so you can confidently make the decisions that impact your finances and your life.”

The review looked at data in nine categories for each MSA: Average income for teachers, income growth for teachers from 2016 to 2018, the percentage change in number of teachers from 2016 to 2018, spending per student, teacher union strength, housing costs, high school graduation rate, percent of students proficient in math and reading in state standardized tests, and the violent crime rate per 100,000 residents.

Pennsylvania in general is a pretty good place to be a teacher, according to the results, with four MSAs in the top 10 list. Lancaster came in fourth, Pittsburgh seventh, and York/Hanover tied for ninth with Spokane/Spokane Valley in Washington.

The best place to be a teacher this year was Rochester, New York, followed by Syracuse in the same state. That was a bit if a blow to the Keystone State. Last year, the Pittsburgh MSA took the top spot nationally, while the Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton MSA (which includes part of New Jersey) came in second. This year, Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton came in 22nd.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton improved from the 2019 rankings, bumping up from 10th to eighth.

In this year’s rankings, the local MSA came in 17th for spending per pupil, at $15,389 — a distinction some fiscal conservatives might not consider a positive. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton is also a pretty cheap place to live, ranking 18th on the list, with average housing costs at $809 per month.

Locally, teachers make up 1.77% of the workforce; among the top 25 MSAs, 12 others had higher rates.

At $64,188, the local average pay was also a bit low (even if it’s above median income for many local districts). There were 17 MSAs in the top 25 with higher average pay, If you want to make the most of your teaching profession dollar-wise, consider heading west, to the San Jose/Sunnyvale/Santa Clara MSA in California, where the average pay is $87,492, highest among the top 25.

To see the complete report, visit smartasset.com