Today is World Teachers Day; how much do teachers earn in the US?

As educators around the globe observe this year's World Teachers Day, how much they should get paid remains a hotly debated topic.

While advocates frequently argue that teachers should earn more, their current salaries vary widely: The average annual salary of teachers in New York is $40,000 more than that of teachers in Mississippi.

In 2018-19 academic year, for example, the average U.S. public school teacher's salary was $61,730 according to the National Education Association.

But in New York, where public schools are routinely ranked high in graduation rates and college readiness, teachers can earn more than $85,000 a year. Meanwhile, in states like West Virginia, Mississippi and Arizona, their average income drops below $50,000.

Coincidentally, the states with the lowest national teacher salaries also happen to rank at the bottom in annual reviews of the nation’s school systems, with West Virginia coming in at 47th, Mississippi at 48th, and Arizona at 49th.

Following is a look at average salaries by state.

1. New York - $85,889 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $45,589)
2. California - $82,282 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $46,992)
3. Massachusetts - $82,042 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $45,498)
4. District of Columbia - $78,477 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $55,209)
5. Connecticut - $76,465 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $45,922)
6. Washington - $72,965 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $42,240)
7. Maryland - $70,463 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $45,147)
8. Alaska - $70,277 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $46,954)
9. New Jersey - $70,212 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $51,443)
10. Pennsylvania - $68,141 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $44,647)
11. Rhode Island - $67,040 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $41,689)
12. Illinois - $66,600 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $39,236)
13. Oregon - $64,385 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $36,319)
14. Delaware - $62,308 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $41,639)
15. Michigan - $61,825 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $36,599)
16. Vermont - $61,027 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $38,499)
17. Hawaii - $59,727 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $46,790)
18. Wyoming - $58,618 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $45,241)
19. Minnesota - $58,221 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $38,529)
20. New Hampshire - $58,146 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $37,395)
21. Iowa - $58,140 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $37,048)
22. Ohio - $57,799 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $35,923)
23. Georgia - $57,137 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $35,474)
24. Maine - $54,974 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $34,788)
25. Nebraska - $54,506 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $34,465)
26. Nevada - $54,280 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $39,054)
27. Texas - $54,155 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $41,481)
28. Montana - $54,034 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $31,418)
29. North Carolina - $53,975 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $37,631)
30. Kentucky - $53,434 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $36,752)
31. North Dakota - $53,434 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $38,611)
32. Colorado - $53,701 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $33,483)
33. Virginia - $52,466 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $40,453)
34. Oklahoma - $52,412 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $32,010)
35. Tennessee - $51,714 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $37,305)
36. Wisconsin - $51,453 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $38,181)
37. Arkansas - $51,019 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $33,323)
38. Indiana - $50,937 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $35,943)
39. Louisiana - $50,923 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $40,303)
40. Alabama - $50,810 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $38,491)
41. Idaho - $50,757 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $34,801)
42. South Carolina - $50,395 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $33,148)
43. Utah - $50,342 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $38,499)
44. Missouri - $50,064 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $32,226)
45. Arizona - $49,892 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $34,473)
46. Kansas - $49,800 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $35,769)
47. South Dakota - $48,786 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $38,098)
48. Florida - $48,395 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $37,636)
49. New Mexico - $47,826 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $36,405)
50. West Virginia - $47,681 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $33,715)
51. Mississippi - $45,574 (2017-2018 average starting salary is $34,784)

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the majority of public school funding comes from states and local governments, with the federal government contributing the smallest share. However, when taking into account the lower cost of living in most of the states on the bottom of the salary list, the discrepency isn't as jarring: $45,000 buys a lot more in West Virginia than in California.

In fact, the 10 states with the lowest cost of living (namely Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico, Tennessee and Kansas) account for much of the bottom 15 in terms of teachers salary, with Georgia, Wyoming, and Michigan being the only exceptions, according to the World Population Review.

Perhaps most noticeably, the disparity between average starting salaries and average teacher salaries on the lower end of the teacher compensation list is no more than $10,000 to $15,000.

Meanwhile, states at the top offer far more room for earnings growth, with teachers in New York, California and Massachusetts earning  $35,000 to $45,000 more compared with the year they started.

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World Teachers Day, sometimes called International Teachers Day, was created in 1994 to "acknowledge, evaluate and enhance the instructors of the world.”