YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Are you a teacher looking for a district that pays well and doesn't break the bank to live in? If you're in Northeast Ohio, you may not have to go far.
The teaching profession has had it's fair share of turmoil over the last few years with many teachers leaving classrooms due to low wages, wages not keeping up with inflation, long hours and dissatisfaction.
Finding a district that pays well in relation to the cost of living in that region has become an important factor in job satisfaction and success.
The website SmartAsset analyzed data on the 137 largest metro areas throughout the country to come up with a list of the best and worst places to be a teacher in 2022.
They compared areas such as employment, income, housing costs, classroom size, school funding and access to the internet
Here's what SmartAsset wrote about the four Ohio regions that cracked the top 10 in their analysis:
1. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA
There are roughly 4,600 teachers in the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pennsylvania (which equates to 2.39% of the area’s workforce and ranks No. 4 in this metric). For teachers in the area, there has been a 15.52% increase in average income over a one-year period (third-highest). Additionally, housing costs in the area are roughly $683 monthly (fourth-lowest).
6. Canton-Massillon, OH
The Canton-Massillon, Ohio metro area ranks in the top 10 across three metrics. First, the area offers low monthly housing costs ranking seventh-best for its $787 median expense. Teachers in Canton-Massillon make up 2.30% of the workforce (roughly 3,640 teachers) which is the eighth-highest concentration for this metric. Additionally, teachers in the area have experienced a 12.28% increase in income over a one-year period since 2020 (ninth-highest increase).
7. Toledo, OH
Toledo, Ohio has the fifth-highest concentration of teachers compared to its overall workforce (2.38%, comprising 6,630 teachers). This metro area also ranks 14th-best for its one-year change in income for teachers (a 9.35% increase since 2020) and housing costs ($839 monthly).
10. Columbus, OH
Teachers make roughly $72,150 in Columbus, Ohio on average. Over a one-year period, teacher incomes have increased by 5.77% (36th-highest). Over the same time period, the number of teachers employed has grown by 3.71% (45th-highest). In total, over 19,000 teachers are employed in the area, making up close to 2% of the Columbus workforce.
Here is where all Ohio regions researched by SmartAsset landed on their rankings:
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