MASON CITY – In the second annual ‘Best U.S. Cities for K-12 Teachers’ report released by college and careers website GoodCall, Mason City was ranked as the #100 place in the country for teachers to live and work. Mason City was ranked as a great place for teachers because of strong teacher salaries, great local school ratings, and a healthy job market.
The majority of the top ranking cities were concentrated in the Midwest and the Northeast with Pennsylvania and Minnesota cities showing up the most frequently. Noticeably missing from the top 20 are cities on the west coast.
In Iowa, Mason City shows just 1.24 open jobs per 1,000 teachers. Mason City boasts ranks of 169th best in student grades, 363rd in housing affordability and 63rd in amenities available.
There are a total of 913 towns listed in the survey.
Several Iowa towns were ranked higher than Mason City, including Storm Lake, Spencer, Boone and Fort Dodge, as well as nearby Albert Lea and Austin and Mankato, Minnesota.
Methodology used by Goodcall
- Affordability: Teacher salaries in each metropolitan area were pulled from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This data was compared against the average salary for all job positions in the same area and weighed against the average cost of housing from the U.S. Census Bureau to calculate an affordability score specific to teachers. This represents 35% of the overall score.
- School Ratings: School quality is important when it comes to teacher satisfaction. GoodCall also considered average weighted SchoolGradesscores for each city or town. SchoolGrades looks at schools’ math and reading scores on national exams, while adjusting for socioecomic status.This represents 35% of the overall score.
- Job Availability / Competition: Job competition was calculated by weighing the number of available jobs in each area against the number of resumes currently posted on Indeed.com. We also compared the total number of available jobs per 1,000 residents. This represents 20% of the overall score.
- Amenities: A town or city that is great for teachers must also offer a good lifestyle outside of the classroom. For this report, we also weighed the number of arts, entertainment and restaurant venues from the U.S. Census Bureau for each town and city. This represents 10% of the overall score.
Jump on Mason City’s Gravy Train for teachers and city employees!!!
All pubic employees seem to have a (cushy lifestyle) ?
They should like it. They get everything they want at taxpayer expense.
Hey, smart boy. What do you suggest that teachers be paid? Just saw an ad on tv touting the CDL program at NIACC. Starting wage for CDL holders $48,000. Much better than the starting wage for teachers.
CDL workers work all year,teachers don’t.
Hey Bodie, we know you’re a dumbocrat. Are you a teacher also?
Nope. But I respect them and support them.
Respectable, but, misguided.
interesting, the cities ranked higher have packing plants.. Duh
Wow! Imagine where we’d be ranked if we’d have had a real Superintendent.
And don’t forget, Anita Marie is walking with the $285K+. But you know she’s doing it for the kids.