USA Today looked at where in the country teachers can afford to live and work.
Our first-of-its-kind analysis of teacher pay vs. housing costs in almost every U.S. metro area sought to answer that question. We based our standard for "most affordable" and "least affordable" on finance experts' recommendation to spend no more than 30% of your salary on housing.
Topping the list was Johnstown, Pa., where the average mid-career teacher earns $56,000 in gross pay each year and would need to spend just 16% of that to afford the area’s median rent. It was followed by Springfield, Ohio (17% towards rent) and Rockford, Ill. (20%). The least affordable cities for teachers were Santa Cruz, (66% towards rent), San Jose (64%) and San Francisco (62%), all in California.