Many of us would agree that teachers aren’t paid enough. They hold one of the most important jobs yet their salary rarely reflects how much they are needed and appreciated. Because of their salary, many teachers can’t afford to live and work in the same area. Career mapping website, zippia.com, crunched some numbers and determined the top 10 places in Tennessee where teachers can’t afford to live.
Williamson County took the number one spot on their list. Here’s a breakdown of Zippia’s research:
“We divided the median home price by the average teacher salary to arrive a Home-to-Salary Ratio for each place. The place with the highest ratio, Williamson County, was crowned the ‘Most Expensive Place For A Teacher To Live.'”
“As a quick aside, we found it interesting that in Tennessee the range of teachers salaries goes from about $37,000 at the bottom in Cannon County to $57,843 in Shelby County. This range seemed pretty tight for the discrepancy in home prices at the top $334,900 in Williamson County to $68,000 in Dyersburg.”
Why Williamson County Ranks #1:
Average Teacher Pay: $48,054
Median Home Price: $334,900
Ratio: 6.97
“Williamson County takes the top spot in Tennessee when it comes to being way too expensive for teachers to ever consider living in town. And it “won” by a long shot — its pay to home price ratio is almost 50% higher than the second place finisher, Germantown.
The Williamson County School District operates 41 different schools within the county which includes the cities of Nolensville, Brentwood, Fairview, and Franklin, among others.
It’s one of the wealthiest counties in the country, nevermind just Tennessee, but it doesn’t pay its teachers to the same level as surrounding areas.”
Zippia used data provided by the Tennessee Education Association and the 2013 American Community Survey, to create their list. The Top 10 were:
- Williamson County
- Germantown
- Wilson County
- Collierville
- Fayette County
- Lakeland
- Sumner County
- Loudon County
- Arlington
- Cheatham County
Spring Hill Alderman and Planning Commissioner Jonathan Duda brought this study to the attention of Dr. Looney, Williamson County Schools Superintendent via Twitter:
@wcsDirofSchools another case for raising the bar on teacher salaries at WCS #FixBEPFunding http://t.co/BXyeI0nJzc
— Jonathan Duda (@AldermanDuda) October 2, 2015
Dr. Looney responded:
Sad… https://t.co/qMyez6ivsg — Dr. Mike Looney (@wcsDirofSchools) October 3, 2015
Read the entire Zippia article here. More Williamson County School News
