Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Programs: Access, Quality, and Workforce
preschool teacher average annual salary, 2022
$30,450
$29,450
$33,530
$32,010
$31,870
$32,020
$33,510
$43,440
$30,960
$29,480
$32,700
$32,630
$28,610
$30,700
$32,000
$32,020
$31,850
$31,760
$31,340
$32,250
$33,040
$33,340
$32,790
$32,170
$31,850
$27,250
$29,920
$32,030
$33,250
$34.760
$32,200
$33,100
$32,350
$32,850
$33,590
$32,290
$33,170
$34,760
$32,290
$35,450
$32,120
$30,790
$33,110
$32,260
$34,790
Data not available due to Confidentiality for all counties
programs. High turnover of pre-k teachers can be detrimental to the quality of the environment and the development of young children, just as it would be for schools to lose and replace teachers in the middle of the year. Teacher turnover impacts the quality environment of the classroom and directly impacts the connection to children and their families. The constant teacher turnover and struggle with retaining highly qualified professionals also harms the program as it takes time to rehire a qualified professional and often causes staffing shifts. 67 While this pay gap is seen between pre-k and kindergarten teachers, as mentioned previously,
there is an even larger wage gap between Black educators and non-Black educators. There is nearly a $1/hour wage gap between Black and non-Black teachers at the preschool level. 68 Nationally, women almost exclusively make up the early care and education workforce, and 40% of the sector’s workforce are people of color. Additionally, compared to the K-12 and post- secondary education systems, the early care and education sector is the most diverse yet the lowest paid. Addressing pay parity and improving the quality of pre-k programs within the state through
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2023 State of Early Care and Education
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