tion of Teachers found that though salaries vary across
             different states, many trends held true for the country. The average
             salary of teachers, for example, was lower than the average wage for all
             private sector employees. Teacher salaries were also significantly lower
             when compared to the percentage of per capita income. This drop in
             percentage continues a downward trend that has been taking place over the
             The American Federation of Teachers study also found that when
             adjusted for inflation, teacher salaries have increased by only $2,600 in
             wages since 1972. This represents an increase of only $90 per year (Nelson
             The national average salary of teachers also lags behind their
             counterparts in other white collar professions. Mid-level accountants, for
             example, earn an average of $54,503. Computer systems analysts earn
             $74,534 while the salary of engineers is even higher, at $76,298. In
             comparison, the average salary of teachers is only $44,367 (Nelson and
             In addition to these figures, many states posted stagnant salaries
             during the 2001-2002 school year. States like Alabama, Minnesota and New
             Jersey in fact reported salary decreases. In Oklahoma, Nevada, New York
             and Wisconsin reported teacher salary increases of 1 percent or less
             (Nelson and Drown, 1). For many teachers, such inadequate increases are
             hardly enough to keep up with rising inflation rates.
             The salary discrepancies are even more acute in rural areas, where
             salaries are significantly lower than in suburban and urban school
             districts. In 2000, the highest salary for rural teachers was $39,487,
             much lower than the $46,271 earned by their counterparts in non-rural
             While the different in salaries between states can also be attributed
             to differences in the cost of living index, advocates for rural educators
             point out the differences in teacher salaries between rural and non-rural
             distr...