The 5 Countries That Pay Teachers More Than the U.S.

If you want to be a teacher, head to Luxembourg. High school teachers there take home an average pay of $79,129 a year—$35,500 more than what the average teacher in the U.S. makes.

Making $43,557 a year on average, U.S. teachers are still better off than their educational colleagues in most parts of the world, according to data published by World Bank and reported by Business Insider. Our country ranks sixth on the list of highest teachers' salaries, placing it above Mexico, Spain, Australia, the Netherlands, and Canada.

The five countries that pay their teachers more are all located in Europe. After Luxembourg, they include Switzerland with an average teacher salary of $69,705; Germany with $61,418; Norway with $47,313; and Denmark with $46,784. (Of course, these numbers don't tell us anything about how far those salaries actually go in a given country.)

If you're not willing to relocate outside the U.S. for your career, it is possible to find a school that pays a generous teacher's salary within the States. Here are the states where elementary school teachers make the most.