Where are all the teachers? Breaking down America's teacher shortage crisis in 5 charts.

Would you encourage someone to become a teacher?

A survey conducted by the nonprofit research organization NORC at the University of Chicago, fewer than 1 in 5 Americans would encourage a young person to become a K-12 teacher.

According to an analysis from the labor market think tank ADP Research Institute, the supply of teaching applicants hasn't kept up with the demand. Research found there has been a staffing shortage for some time, but it has gotten worse since the COVID-19 pandemic.

State-by-state teacher vacancies

A state-by-state analysis of teacher job openings may provide a more realistic picture of the teacher shortage.

The Annenberg Institute at Brown University found in a recent study there were an estimated 55,000 vacant full-time teaching positions in the U.S. The map below shows the extent to which there are teacher vacancies in each state. Florida has the highest demand for teachers, while Utah has the lowest.

The shortages vary greatly among states, districts, and schools. Shortages already were a problem in schools before the pandemic, especially among English learners, children of color and children with disabilities.

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More:Schools are hiring more teachers than ever. So why aren't there enough of them?

Teacher applications haven't caught up with demand

The ADP Research Institute created indexes to measure employment changes using employment and wage data for kindergarten through 12th grade teachers in public and private schools.

Prospective teachers are also less likely to pursue education careers in the first place. Wage competitiveness has weakened especially for teachers ages 20 to 30. 

Teacher-to-student ratio varies by state

The greatest teacher-to-student ratio of any state was Vermont with 94.8 teachers per 1,000 students. Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, and New York round out the top five, according to Scholaroo, a scholarship search platform. Research found that Arizona ranked the lowest with 43.8 teacher per 1,000 students. Utah, California, Nevada and Florida join Arizona at the bottom of the list.

Scholaroo analyzed the number of teachers employed in each state and the state population in the map below.

More:With rising rents, some school districts are trying to find teachers affordable housing

How teacher salaries compare

The average annual salary for teachers in the U.S. was $68,000 as of October 2023, which is 8% less than the average salary for all workers in the country. The pay gap has been growing; in January 2018, it was only 3%.

As more senior educators leave the classroom, prospective teachers are choosing to work in higher-paying industries.

Teachers' salaries grow at a slower rate than that of the workforce as a whole.

Small sign of improvement

In a study by the National Center for Education Statistics, the statistical center of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, found public schools' attitudes toward their staffing levels are becoming a little more positive.

As of the start of the 2023–24 school year, 45% of public schools in the U.S. say they are understaffed, down from 53% of schools feeling the same way as of the end of the previous school year (2022–23).

CONTRIBUTING Alia Wong