Illinois Is One Of The Best States In America For Teachers

Teaching is hard.  From Kindergarten to High School, teachers have to work hard to teach the youth of America.  But lately, as recent news has shown, sometimes it's not even about teaching.  It's survival.

So working in a school that supports teachers matters more than ever.  One district in a state might be great; another might be horrible.  But WalletHub looked at metrics state by state and found that Illinois is one of the best states for teachers overall.

What Do Teachers Want At Their School?

Besides safety.  These are the metrics that WalletHub used to determine the best states for teachers.

• Average starting salary
• Average salary
• Teachers income growth potential
• 10=year change in teacher salaries
• Average teacher pension
• Share of new teachers with inadequate pensions
• Projected teacher competition in the year 2034
• Public school enrollment growth
• Length of time before tenure kicks in
• Teacher tenure protections
• Teacher preparation program completion

So a lot of financial things.  But hey, we all want to be paid accordingly for our work.  And again, teachers have hard, stressful jobs.

But beyond the finances, WalletHub measured:

• Existence of digital learning plan
• State statute on out-of-school access to instructional materials
• State guidance on accessible technologies
• Quality of school system
• Student-to-teacher ratio
• School spending per student
• Presence of annual teacher evaluation requirement
• Presence of teacher effectiveness requirement
• Projected share of teacher turnover
• Share of teachers who feel supported by administration
• Average commute time
• Prevalence of childhood disadvantage
• Working mom friendliness.

So with all that, where do things fall?  The best states for teachers in 2026 are Washington, New York, Virginia, Illinois, and Utah.

While Illinois comes in at number 4, neighboring Midwest states don't fare quite as well.  Minnesota is in 12th, Wisconsin is ranked 25th, and Iowa is 33rd in the country.

But it could be worse.  The worst states for teachers in 2026 are New Mexico, Maine, Montana, Hawaii, and New Hampshire.