I recommend the book “Poverty by America” by Matthew Desmond.

The first quote that made me pause the book deserves to be shared: “A third of Americans live without much economic security working as bus drivers, farmers, teachers cashiers, cooks, nurses, security guards, social workers. Many are not officially counted among the poor but what then is the term for trying to raise two kids on $50,000 a year in Miami or Portland? What do you call it when you don’t qualify for a housing voucher but can’t get a mortgage either? When the rent takes half your paycheck and your student loan debt takes another quarter?… As a lived reality, there is plenty of poverty above the poverty line.”

What do you call it? I’d call it a reason to avoid certain careers. Or a reason to choose your location to teach with a tremendous amount of care. The range in teachers’ salaries is not nearly as wide as the range in housing prices from area to area. Teachers make an average starting salary of $35,766 in Iowa, with an overall average salary of $55,443.* Iowa has a Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) of $211,054,** making it the seventh most affordable state for housing. In Oregon, that average starting teacher salary is $35,534 with an overall average of $61,631. The ZHVI for Oregon, however, is $498,558.

Teachers frequently fall into that category that Desmond laid out — poverty above the poverty line. The poverty line is an arbitrary line drawn by a ratio of resources to salary. Today’s current poverty threshold for an individual, according to healthcare.gov, is $14,580, a number that climbs to $30,000 for a family of four. In many parts of this country, teachers are among the working, not-quite-officially poor. Or they are avoiding falling into that category by commuting hours each day. You can work in San Francisco or Seattle. That doesn’t mean you can live there.

Eduhonesty: What do you call it when you can’t live where you work? When you can’t feed your own children on the money that you bring home? I’ll suggest readers journal the first answers to these questions that come to mind.

I’d call the above numbers a reason to organize, quit, change careers, or move. Those districts that don’t pay enough for teachers to afford housing or family vacations? They don’t deserve their teachers. We have entered the teacher shortage I predicted. That makes 2023 a great time to vote with your feet.

*Teacher Salaries in America, niche.com

**Zillow.com