Top 20 Parishes in Louisiana for Teacher Pay

SHREVEPORT, LA - Teachers in Louisiana are still losing ground to teachers in other southern states when it comes to pay. That is a hot topic during this election season. State lawmakers opted to give teachers a one time pay bonus rather than a raise this year. But many lawmakers know they will have to address this issue soon as Louisiana continues to lose teachers.

The latest numbers on teacher pay in Louisiana show the average teacher salary in Louisiana is $52,472, more than $12,000 below the national average.  Steven Procopio with the Public Affairs Research Council, says teacher salaries in Louisiana are among the lowest paid in the south. He says only Mississippi, Florida and Arkansas pay teachers less the Louisiana does.

But some parishes are doing better than others. In fact, teachers in north Louisiana are among the highest paid across the state. There's really good news for teachers around Shreveport and Bossier. The salaries for most parishes in northwest Louisiana have been climbing and this region has several parishes in the top ten list this year.

After you check out the Top 20 list below, scroll down and see how these parishes fared a year ago and you will see the improvement for local school districts.

What Parishes Have the Lowest Paid?

The lowest paid teachers in Louisiana work in the following Parishes: Washington, East Feliciana Parish, LaSalle, Richland and East Carroll. The pay for teachers in these parishes is below $44,000 a year.