25:["$","$L26",null,{"category":"$27","relatedArticles":[{"id":"cG9zdDo0MTQxMw==","databaseId":41413,"postId":41413,"author":{"node":{"id":"dXNlcjo1MA==","databaseId":50,"userId":50,"avatar":{"url":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/10ca58872f36412ceff58616bb971c22?s=96&d=mm&r=g","size":96,"__typename":"Avatar"},"description":"Amelia Josephson is a writer passionate about covering financial literacy topics. Her areas of expertise include retirement and home buying. Amelia's work has appeared across the web, including on AOL, CBS News and The Simple Dollar. She holds degrees from Columbia and Oxford. Originally from Alaska, Amelia now calls Brooklyn home.","additionalMeta":{"expertise":null,"__typename":"User_Additionalmeta"},"email":null,"firstName":"Amelia","fullName":"Amelia Josephson","lastName":"Josephson","name":"Amelia Josephson","postCount":{"pageInfo":{"offsetPagination":{"total":334,"__typename":"OffsetPaginationPageInfo"},"__typename":"UserToPostConnectionPageInfo"},"__typename":"UserToPostConnection"},"slug":"ajosephson","__typename":"User"},"__typename":"NodeWithAuthorToUserConnectionEdge"},"categories":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"CategoryToCategoryConnection"},"databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":{"pageInfo":{"offsetPagination":{"total":38,"__typename":"OffsetPaginationPageInfo"},"__typename":"CategoryToPostConnectionPageInfo"},"__typename":"CategoryToPostConnection"},"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"}],"__typename":"PostToCategoryConnection"},"content":"$28","date":"2015-11-13T10:00:36","excerpt":"

\n","featuredImage":{"id":"cG9zdDoxNzMwMjc=","databaseId":173027,"altText":"The Economics of Podcasting","date":"2022-11-08T17:50:53","fileSize":74772,"mimeType":"image/jpeg","modified":"2022-11-08T17:50:53","sourceUrl":"https://smartasset.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2015/11/Economics-of-Podcasting-1.jpg","__typename":"MediaItem"},"modified":{"datetime":"2023-8-29","readable":"August 29, 2023"},"multipleBylinesByRole":{"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"writtenBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null,"hideAuthor":null,"__typename":"Post_Multiplebylinesbyrole"},"adTargetingOverrides":{"fieldGroupName":"adTargetingOverrides","pageGroupNewKey":null,"__typename":"Post_Adtargetingoverrides"},"seo":{"canonical":"https://smartasset.com/career/the-economics-of-podcasting","metaDesc":"Podcasting has taken the media world by storm. By now you probably have some favorite podcasts of your own, or at least know podcast enthusiasts who have...","metaKeywords":"","metaRobotsNofollow":"follow","metaRobotsNoindex":"index","readingTime":10,"title":"The Economics of Podcasting - SmartAsset","__typename":"PostTypeSEO"},"slug":"the-economics-of-podcasting","status":"publish","title":"The Economics of Podcasting","uri":"/career/the-economics-of-podcasting","tags":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"PostToTagConnection"},"__typename":"Post","adPageGroupOverride":null,"bylines":{"writtenBy":{"id":"dXNlcjo1MA==","databaseId":50,"userId":50,"avatar":"$29","description":"Amelia Josephson is a writer passionate about covering financial literacy topics. Her areas of expertise include retirement and home buying. Amelia's work has appeared across the web, including on AOL, CBS News and The Simple Dollar. She holds degrees from Columbia and Oxford. Originally from Alaska, Amelia now calls Brooklyn home.","additionalMeta":"$2a","email":null,"firstName":"Amelia","fullName":"Amelia Josephson","lastName":"Josephson","name":"Amelia Josephson","postCount":"$2b","slug":"amelia-josephson","__typename":"User"},"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null},"category":{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":"$2e","databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":38,"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"},"isModifiedBeforePublished":false,"contentBlocks":["

Are podcasts the new TV? These days it seems like everyone we talk to has a favorite podcast or a handful of podcasts on heavy rotation. Podcasts are booming. You can find episodes on personal finance, classic films and even how harbors and ports work. Do podcasts make money? Can you make a decent living as a podcaster and still have enough to save for retirement? Let’s get into it.

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Check out our retirement calculator.

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The Rise of Podcasts

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Podcasts are recorded programs that listeners can stream or download. Loyal listeners can also subscribe to podcasts, automatically downloading each new episode. Public radio networks played a key role in the development of the podcast, as did the iPod and iTunes. In fact, the word “podcast” is a combination of “iPod” and “broadcast.” These days, podcasts can be simple operations produced in someone’s garage, affiliates of multi-podcast networks or backed by public radio stations.

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Between 2006 and 2015, awareness of podcasts grew from 22% to 49%, according to Nielsen research. Libsyn, the world’s largest podcast network, reported 2.6 billion downloads of its podcasts in 2014, of which 63% were on mobile devices.

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As Americans commute, work out, do chores and travel we have a growing number of podcasts to accompany to us. As of 2015, one third of Americans have listened to a podcast, according to Edison Research. 17% of Americans age 12 or older say they’ve listened to a podcast in the last month. That’s up 2% from 2014. That may sound like modest growth, but producers are feeling bullish. 2015 saw the launch of three new public radio podcast networks (Radiotopia, SoundWorks and Infinite Guests).

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According to Apple, podcast subscriptions through iTunes reached 1 billion in 2014. That year, the 10 most downloaded podcasts were:

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1. Fresh Air

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2. Stuff You Should Know

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3. The Joe Rogan Experience

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4. The Adam Carolla Show

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5. This American Life

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6. Radiolab

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7. Freakonomics Radio

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8. The Nerdist

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9. Planet Money Podcast

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10. Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!

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How Podcasts Make Money

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Podcast listeners tend to be young, educated males. According to podcast network Midroll, which hosts over 200 podcasts including WTF with Marc Maron (the one President Obama was on), 67% of its listeners belong to advertisers’ favorite demographic, 18-34-year-olds. 20% of Midroll podcast listeners have household incomes of $100,000, while 62% of podcast listeners have incomes of $50,000 or more. 58% of listeners have a BA. Sounds like an advertiser’s dream, right?

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The site also says that “63% of Midroll podcast listeners say that they bought something after hearing an ad on our shows.” That figure is meant to tempt potential advertisers. At the same time, however, it reveals one of the problems inherent in monetizing podcasts: there’s a difference between downloading and listening.

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Because podcasts can be downloaded and never listened to, it can be tough to sell advertisers on download stats alone. If podcasts are gathering dust on iPhones and laptops, ads aren’t being listened to. This is an especially big problem for podcasts that never play on public radio so don’t have a built-in way to reach listeners.

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Still, podcast advertising has some advantages over other forms of digital advertising. When you listen to a podcast, the host or hosts generally read out the advertisements. Often, hosts add their own take on why a product is useful or worth looking into. It could even be something like, “I never buy video games but I love this video game,” which is essentially what Marc Maron famously said during a pre-podcast ad. There are no annoying pop-ups, auto-playing videos or intrusive ad breaks that are loud and out of sync with the tone of the program.

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Even if the host just reads the 15-30 seconds of ad copy without adding commentary, it can seem to listeners that the host of a beloved podcast is endorsing what’s being advertised. There’s no easy way to skip the ads in a podcast without fast-forwarding and trying to find the exact starting point of the meat of the program. Some podcasts re-start if you try to skip the beginning (when the ad is read). Ad-blockers won’t screen the advertising at the beginning, middle or end of a podcast.

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So how much are those ads worth? According to a New York article on the rise of podcasting, “Several top podcasters told me that their CPM (the cost to an advertiser per thousand impressions, a standard ad-industry unit) was between $20 and $45.” That CPM beats radio, TV ads and web ads because the audience for podcasts is so desirable for advertisers, and because podcast ads carry explicit or implicit host endorsement. Podcast CPMs can go as high as $100, as is reportedly the case for the podcast StartUp.

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Another form of podcast advertising is promo codes. Many podcast ads take the form of promotional codes that listeners can redeem for a discount or free trial. For example, classic film podcast You Must Remember This offered a promo code for a one-month free trial of Mubi, an art-film streaming service. This American Life did the same with Audible.

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With the promo code approach to monetization, podcasts can charge for sales (also known as conversion). An advertiser might pay a certain amount for every listener who goes the advertiser’s site and uses the promo code to get a discount or free trial.

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Advertising isn’t the only way to make money from podcasting. Audience members have proven that they’re willing to donate to their favorite podcasts and podcast networks. Podcast network Maximum Fun sells monthly memberships at the $5, $10, $20, $35, $100 and $200 levels. You can also donate at any time, or during what the network calls the MaxFunDrive, a public radio-style fundraising drive. In 2015, the MaxFunDrive had a goal of adding 6,000 members. It added over 5,700.

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Maximum Fun says it would prefer to rely on listener support rather than make deals with advertisers it doesn’t like or approve of. According to the network, “About 75% of our revenue comes from listeners directly supporting the show.” Those listener donations get divided equally among the podcasts in the network: “About 25% of your monthly donation goes to run the network – that’s rent, staff, and the costs of the pledge drive. About 75% is divided evenly between the shows you listen to. You are directly supporting the shows and their creators.” Monthly donors have access to bonus content that isn’t available to non-members.

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There’s a reason that podcast networks have followed in the footsteps of public radio by soliciting memberships as opposed to one-time donations. It makes it easier to sell ads, and it provides a steady source of income that makes it easier to budget programming expenses. Plus, it cuts back on the cost of outreach to potential donors.

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Kickstarter and other crowdfunding sites are a valuable money-making tool for podcasters. In 2014, the Radiotopia podcasting network raised $600,000 on Kickstarter, far surpassing its $250,000 goal.

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Finally, podcasts can make money by selling tickets to live tapings and events. These live events essentially allow a podcast to monetize the same episode twice – once by selling tickets to the taping of the episode and again by selling ads during the episode.

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Not every podcaster uses podcasting as their sole source of income. For example, many in the personal finance world use a podcast to complement their work as writers, entrepreneurs, consultants and financial planners. Podcaster Vernon Ross told SmartAsset that he launched his podcast to reach and grow the client base for his business as a consultant on online businesses, social media strategy and networking. Ross’s advice to anyone considering launching a podcast? “Just start. All the information’s out there and most of it’s free.”

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Podcasting Costs

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Whether they make the bulk of their money from listeners or advertisers, podcasters have to cover their costs. Podcaster Ann Friedman wrote that she spends relatively little on production. Friedman wrote that she downloaded podcasting software for $49 and bought a microphone for $119.

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But production costs can easily soar when you add in the costs of equipment, bandwidth and staff time. In 2013, Gregory Young, of The Bowery Boys told the Wall Street Journal that “his costs run from $1,500 to $2,000 for a computer, an additional $1,000 for a mixing board and miscellaneous equipment, $200 per microphone and $20 a month for his hosting service.” Then, he has to court advertisers to defray those costs.

","

The cost of securing bandwidth and advertisers can be eased by joining with other podcasters. If a podcaster decides to join an established network, there are generally different pricing plans. For example, Libsyn offers plans that vary in cost from $5 per month to $75 per month, with an optional $10 add-on for a custom mobile app. The $5 option comes with 50mb of monthly storage, which jumps to 1500mb for the $75 plan.

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**The Serial Effect**

","

","

Unless you were living under a rock you probably heard about the hit podcast Serial. Millions of listeners downloaded episodes from iTunes and for a while it seemed like everyone was talking about the true-crime podcast. It was the fastest podcast to ever reach 5 million downloads.

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Serial launched with corporate sponsorship from MailChimp but ended up having to raid the coffers of the twenty-year-old podcast favorite This American Life to cover some of its costs. As the podcast closed, host Sarah Koenig appealed to her audience for donations to fund a second season of the sleeper hit.

","

Some questioned Koenig’s call for donations, speculating that the advertising CPM for the viral hit show’s 40+ million downloads should have been enough to fund the podcast. But between covering the equipment and bandwidth budget and paying the salaries of Koenig and the four other staff members, Serial had some serious operating costs, which Koenig said were not covered by advertising revenue.

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Want to make Serial-level money? According to CNN, each episode of Serial had been downloaded an average of 3.4 million times as of December 22, 2014. Divide that by 1,000 because CPM is cost per thousand. That gets you 3,400. If you charge a CPM of $45, that gets you to $153,000 per episode. Multiply it by 12 episodes and you get $1,836,000. Not bad! The lower your costs, the more of that money you get to keep. The trick is that you need to spend enough to make a quality podcast that will get millions of downloads.

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What the Critics Say

","

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The biggest critique of the podcasting landscape is that there isn’t enough diversity among podcasters. Famous exceptions include podcasts The Read, Another Round and Friends Like Us, among others. Typically, though, the image of a podcaster is of a white male. Perhaps the most famous podcaster is Ira Glass, whose iconic voice – and glasses – are part of what has made This American Life such a success.

","

This seems to be changing, however. Hillary Clinton made a splash when she appeared on the Buzzfeed podcast Another Round hosted by two African-American women, Heben Nigatu and Tracy Clayton. An article in the Columbia Journalism Review suggested that adding to its podcast repertoire was key to bringing some much-needed youth and diversity to the image of National Public Radio – and expanding the audience for public radio. And there’s a bonus: The public radio network doubled its podcasting revenue in 2014 and is expected to do so again by the end of 2015.

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Bottom Line

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In 2014, podcasting legend Ira Glass sat down with Alec Baldwin to appear on Baldwin’s podcast Here’s the Thing. Glass, who famously took more than one pay cut from his podcasting salary, told Baldwin that he doesn’t support himself entirely from his This American Life paycheck. He supplements his podcasting earnings with speaking appearances and more. Which just goes to show you that the committed journalists, comedians, personal finance experts and others who are leading the podcasting boom aren’t necessarily just in it for the money.

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Update: Have financial questions beyond the economics of podcasting? SmartAsset can help. So many people reached out to us looking for tax and long-term financial planning help, we started our own matching service to help you find a financial advisor. The SmartAdvisor matching tool can help you find a person to work with to meet your needs. First you’ll answer a series of questions about your situation and goals. Then the program will narrow down your options from thousands of advisors to three fiduciaries who suit your needs. You can then read their profiles to learn more about them, interview them on the phone or in person and choose who to work with in the future. This allows you to find a good fit while the program does much of the hard work for you.

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Photo credit: © iStock.com/200mm, © iStock.com/DoctorQ, © iStock.com/Neustockimages

"],"experts":null,"link":"/career/the-economics-of-podcasting","published":{"datetime":"2015-11-13","readable":"November 13, 2015"},"shareInfo":{"title":"The Economics of Podcasting","origin":"/career/the-economics-of-podcasting"},"isNewsArticle":false},{"id":"cG9zdDoxNTc4OTc=","databaseId":157897,"postId":157897,"author":{"node":{"id":"dXNlcjo5OQ==","databaseId":99,"userId":99,"avatar":{"url":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/67b8e9b4ee40c2b36d23ca662b66d02f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","size":96,"__typename":"Avatar"},"description":"Ashley Kilroy is an experienced financial writer currently serving as an investment and insurance expert at SmartAsset. In addition to being a contributing writer at SmartAsset, she writes for solo entrepreneurs as well as for Fortune 500 companies. Ashley is a finance graduate of the University of Cincinnati. When she isn’t helping people understand their finances, you may find Ashley cage diving with great whites or on safari in South Africa.","additionalMeta":{"expertise":null,"__typename":"User_Additionalmeta"},"email":null,"firstName":"Ashley","fullName":"Ashley Kilroy","lastName":"Kilroy","name":"Ashley Kilroy","postCount":{"pageInfo":{"offsetPagination":{"total":530,"__typename":"OffsetPaginationPageInfo"},"__typename":"UserToPostConnectionPageInfo"},"__typename":"UserToPostConnection"},"slug":"achorpenning","__typename":"User"},"__typename":"NodeWithAuthorToUserConnectionEdge"},"categories":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"CategoryToCategoryConnection"},"databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":{"pageInfo":{"offsetPagination":{"total":38,"__typename":"OffsetPaginationPageInfo"},"__typename":"CategoryToPostConnectionPageInfo"},"__typename":"CategoryToPostConnection"},"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"}],"__typename":"PostToCategoryConnection"},"content":"$30","date":"2022-03-24T15:19:38","excerpt":"

Among the many reasons Americans can lose sleep at night, money stress is a major concern. But many employers are alleviating financial worries with the creation of financial wellness programs, which both attract and retain quality candidates. Financial wellness programs aim to help …

\n","featuredImage":{"id":"cG9zdDoxOTU5Njk=","databaseId":195969,"altText":"SmartAsset: What Are Financial Wellness Programs?","date":"2023-05-06T22:03:38","fileSize":59656,"mimeType":"image/jpeg","modified":"2023-05-06T22:03:38","sourceUrl":"https://smartasset.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/03/iStock-1132210856-2.jpg","__typename":"MediaItem"},"modified":{"datetime":"2023-8-25","readable":"August 25, 2023"},"multipleBylinesByRole":{"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"writtenBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null,"hideAuthor":null,"__typename":"Post_Multiplebylinesbyrole"},"adTargetingOverrides":{"fieldGroupName":"adTargetingOverrides","pageGroupNewKey":null,"__typename":"Post_Adtargetingoverrides"},"seo":{"canonical":"https://smartasset.com/career/financial-wellness-programs","metaDesc":"Financial wellness programs aim to help employees manage finances and reduce financial stress. Here's a breakdown of the most common benefits.","metaKeywords":"","metaRobotsNofollow":"follow","metaRobotsNoindex":"index","readingTime":5,"title":"What Are Financial Wellness Programs? - SmartAsset","__typename":"PostTypeSEO"},"slug":"financial-wellness-programs","status":"publish","title":"What Are Financial Wellness Programs?","uri":"/career/financial-wellness-programs","tags":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"PostToTagConnection"},"__typename":"Post","adPageGroupOverride":null,"bylines":{"writtenBy":{"id":"dXNlcjo5OQ==","databaseId":99,"userId":99,"avatar":"$31","description":"Ashley Kilroy is an experienced financial writer currently serving as an investment and insurance expert at SmartAsset. In addition to being a contributing writer at SmartAsset, she writes for solo entrepreneurs as well as for Fortune 500 companies. Ashley is a finance graduate of the University of Cincinnati. When she isn’t helping people understand their finances, you may find Ashley cage diving with great whites or on safari in South Africa.","additionalMeta":"$32","email":null,"firstName":"Ashley","fullName":"Ashley Kilroy","lastName":"Kilroy","name":"Ashley Kilroy","postCount":"$33","slug":"ashley-kilroy","__typename":"User"},"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null},"category":{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":"$36","databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":38,"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"},"isModifiedBeforePublished":false,"contentBlocks":["

","

A financial advisor can help you create a financial plan for your needs and goals.

","

What Are Financial Wellness Programs?

","

Employers may offer financial wellness programs to help their employees improve their finances. Additionally, it’s an employment incentive that can help employees minimize the financial stress in their lives and improve their real financial success. Financial wellness programs can provide training, tools, resources and perks that aid employees throughout their financial journey.

","

Offering financial wellness programs helps companies stay competitive, especially in a staffing market. In addition, because employer compensation packages are one of the many incentives that attract quality candidates, many companies see the value in creating these programs. In 2019, Gartner, a technological research and consulting firm, predicted that employers offering financial wellness programs would increase 20% by the year 2023.

","

Examples of Financial Wellness Programs

","

","

Your employer could offer a wide range of financial wellness benefits, from resources to help improve your financial literacy to insurance offerings to boosting your retirement savings. Here are a few examples to explain how these plans work.

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Employer matching programs

","

Using an employer’s matching program is a great way to improve your future financial security. Some of the common matching offerings include:

","$38","

Education programs

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There are programs available for employees to learn essential information to prepare for financial emergencies with the available employer benefits. There are many variations of programs available that can include some if not all of the following components:

","

Credit counseling sessions: Credit counseling sessions help consumers manage debt. For example, some counselors can assist employees with student loan deferments, handling forbearances, and getting approved for an income-driven repayment plan.
Workshops: The focal point of financial education workshops is to educate employees about credit scores, savings accounts, retirement savings and more. Usually, these sessions are held over lunch with financial advisors from local credit unions and other similar organizations there to run them.
Financial aid guidance: Employers may provide remote, interactive financial aid guidance to help working parents understand college aid options available such as FAFSA.

","

Insurance plans

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While many companies offer health insurance as an employment incentive, others may provide different insurance offerings to strengthen your asset protection. Some insurance policies can include:

","

Long-term care coverage
Life insurance
Disability insurance
Pet insurance
Umbrella insurance
Adoption and fertility insurance

","

Financial assistance programs

","

Outside of providing insurance, retirement benefits and educating employees, employers may contemplate incorporating programs for financial assistance within the economic well-being strategy for their employees. These are to acknowledge other elements employees might not have thought of that could factor into their finances.

","

Types of offerings include:

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Medical bill negotiation
Mortgage assistance
Stock options
Relocation assistance
Health savings accounts (HSA)
Flexible spending accounts (FSA)
Career develop stipends
Deferred compensation plans
Bonus plans

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Other Benefits of Financial Wellness Programs

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Your employer may also offer assistance achieving long-term security by connecting you with a financial advisor. These financial professionals can help you create a comprehensive financial plan that touches on wealth management, investments and estate planning.

","

Other benefits include:

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Will preparation
Tax preparation
Gym memberships
Credit monitoring
Identity theft protection
Company car and gas card
Child assistance

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Bottom Line

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When it comes to improving your financial well-being, knowledge is power. So, whether your employer offers a financial wellness program or is planning on offering one, you’ll want to become familiar with all of the tools, resources and perks at your disposal. In addition, understanding the best practices for leveraging these programs can better your financial security. Therefore, make sure you’re well-versed to take full advantage of your company’s financial wellness program. And, if you’re looking for a new employment opportunity, make sure to ask any potential employer what benefits are available so you can make the most informed career choice.

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Tips on Saving for Retirement

","$39","

Photo credit: ©iStock/dima_sidelnikov, ©iStock/kohei_hara, ©iStock/fizkes

"],"experts":null,"link":"/career/financial-wellness-programs","published":{"datetime":"2022-3-24","readable":"March 24, 2022"},"shareInfo":{"title":"What Are Financial Wellness Programs?","origin":"/career/financial-wellness-programs"},"isNewsArticle":false},{"id":"cG9zdDoyMjY1MA==","databaseId":22650,"postId":22650,"author":{"node":{"id":"dXNlcjo0OA==","databaseId":48,"userId":48,"avatar":{"url":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/50102d5e35f225d865b5245a2521bb14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","size":96,"__typename":"Avatar"},"description":"Nick Wallace studied Economics at the University of Washington. He enjoys getting people thinking about finances by looking a the numbers. Nick is a freelance journalist and data analyst living in Michigan. He still lends his economic and analytic expertise for SmartAsset's studies.","additionalMeta":{"expertise":null,"__typename":"User_Additionalmeta"},"email":null,"firstName":"Nick","fullName":"Nick Wallace","lastName":"Wallace","name":"Nick Wallace","postCount":{"pageInfo":{"offsetPagination":{"total":112,"__typename":"OffsetPaginationPageInfo"},"__typename":"UserToPostConnectionPageInfo"},"__typename":"UserToPostConnection"},"slug":"nwallace","__typename":"User"},"__typename":"NodeWithAuthorToUserConnectionEdge"},"categories":{"nodes":[{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"CategoryToCategoryConnection"},"databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":{"pageInfo":{"offsetPagination":{"total":38,"__typename":"OffsetPaginationPageInfo"},"__typename":"CategoryToPostConnectionPageInfo"},"__typename":"CategoryToPostConnection"},"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"}],"__typename":"PostToCategoryConnection"},"content":"$3a","date":"2014-12-02T12:30:29","excerpt":"

\n","featuredImage":{"id":"cG9zdDoyMjY2OA==","databaseId":22668,"altText":"The Best (and Worst) Cities for Teachers","date":"2014-10-22T11:56:35","fileSize":66406,"mimeType":"image/jpeg","modified":"2014-10-22T11:56:35","sourceUrl":"https://smartasset.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/10/10822502374_08028749a8_z.jpg","__typename":"MediaItem"},"modified":{"datetime":"2023-9-2","readable":"September 2, 2023"},"multipleBylinesByRole":{"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"writtenBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null,"hideAuthor":null,"__typename":"Post_Multiplebylinesbyrole"},"adTargetingOverrides":{"fieldGroupName":"adTargetingOverrides","pageGroupNewKey":null,"__typename":"Post_Adtargetingoverrides"},"seo":{"canonical":"https://smartasset.com/career/the-best-and-worst-cities-for-teachers","metaDesc":"SmartAsset investigates teacher pay, student test scores, employment rates, and other indicators of job satisfaction to find the best cities for teachers.","metaKeywords":"","metaRobotsNofollow":"follow","metaRobotsNoindex":"index","readingTime":10,"title":"The Best (and Worst) Cities for Teachers | SmartAsset","__typename":"PostTypeSEO"},"slug":"the-best-and-worst-cities-for-teachers","status":"publish","title":"The Best (and Worst) Cities for Teachers","uri":"/career/the-best-and-worst-cities-for-teachers","tags":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"PostToTagConnection"},"__typename":"Post","adPageGroupOverride":null,"bylines":{"writtenBy":{"id":"dXNlcjo0OA==","databaseId":48,"userId":48,"avatar":"$3b","description":"Nick Wallace studied Economics at the University of Washington. He enjoys getting people thinking about finances by looking a the numbers. Nick is a freelance journalist and data analyst living in Michigan. He still lends his economic and analytic expertise for SmartAsset's studies.","additionalMeta":"$3c","email":null,"firstName":"Nick","fullName":"Nick Wallace","lastName":"Wallace","name":"Nick Wallace","postCount":"$3d","slug":"nick-wallace","__typename":"User"},"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"factCheckedBy":null,"secondEditor":null},"category":{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":"$40","databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":38,"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"},"isModifiedBeforePublished":false,"contentBlocks":["

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of fall 2012 there were roughly 3.7 million full-time elementary, middle and high school teachers in the U.S. To put that number in context: there are more teachers in America than police officers, physicians, therapists, lawyers, social workers and postal workers combined.¹ When you consider the influence teachers can have on their students’ lives, it is no exaggeration to say that teachers collectively hold the most important job in the country.

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Find out now: How much do I need to save for retirement?

","

Yet, for all its importance, that job can at times be less than rewarding. Indifferent students, obnoxious parents, poor pay, a lack of resources; these are among the reasons that teachers often report low levels of job satisfaction. Indeed, a national 2012 survey of teachers found that only 39% were “very satisfied” with their jobs, and more than half felt that they were “under great stress” several days a week.²

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The Data

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We wanted to find cities in which teachers enjoy good pay, long-term job security and a positive work environment. To do so, we first collected data on teacher income and employment in major metropolitan areas, limiting our focus to areas with at least 5,000 teachers. We then looked at the largest school districts in the principal cities of each of these areas. In all, we collected data on five different factors:

","$42","

Try SmartAsset’s free Student Loan Calculator.

","

Methodology

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To produce our final index, we ranked the 116 cities in our study across all five of the above factors. We then averaged those rankings, giving equal weight to each of the five factors, and applied a score on a scale of 0-100 based on the average ranking. The city with the highest average ranking (25.8) received a 100, while the city with the lowest average ranking (85.4) received a zero; a city with an average ranking halfway between the high and the low received a 50, and so on. The results, below, are the best and worst cities for teachers.

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1. Cambridge, Massachusetts

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Home to Harvard, M.I.T. and the thousands of current and future PhDs that work and study at those august institutions, Cambridge is a city that recognizes the importance of high quality education—and high quality educators. While Cambridge had an average ranking of 25.8 (out of 116) across the five factors we considered, its highest ranking was for district spending. With annual per pupil spending of $27,650, Cambridge School District ranked first overall in that category, so teachers in Cambridge can be sure to have the books and supplies they need to lead their classes effectively. That, along with the high disposable income enjoyed by teachers in the area and strong student test scores (8^th highest overall), make Cambridge the most teacher-friendly city in America.

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2. Columbus, Ohio

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The largest city in Ohio is also among the best destinations for teachers. The Columbus metro area ranked in the top 25 for both hiring and student-population growth, and the Columbus City School District ranked 25^th for per pupil spending, with the district spending an average of $14,008 for each student it educates, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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3. Boston, Massachusetts

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Across the Charles River from the top ranked city in our study, Boston likewise benefits from a strong academic culture. Boston University is the city’s fourth largest employer, and Northeastern University, Boston College and U-Mass Boston also have campuses in the city. As a result, the city places a strong emphasis on education: the Boston School District’s per student spending of $19,720 was sixth overall in that category, and teachers in the Boston-Cambridge-Quincy metropolitan area enjoyed the 22^nd highest disposable income of any city in our study.

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4. Poughkeepsie, New York

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The smallest city to make the top ten, and one of the smallest in our study, Poughkeepsie may be the perfect place for teachers who don’t want to live in a big city. Teachers in the Poughkeepsie metropolitan area have an average disposable income of over $64,000 – highest in our study. The Arlington Central School District, which is the largest district in the area, spent an average of $17,037 per student, 14^th highest overall (the smaller Poughkeepsie City School District fared even better, with per pupil spending of over $19,000).

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5. Edison, New Jersey

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In 1954, the township of Raritan renamed itself after its most famous son, Thomas Edison, inventor par excellence, who did much of his tinkering in Raritan’s Menlo Park neighborhood. Today, students in Edison Township seem to be intent on emulating The Wizard of Menlo Park: the Edison Township School District had the highest average math and reading test scores of any city we examined.

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6. Seattle, Washington

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The top-ranked west coast city in our study, Seattle rated in the top 50 in four of the five factors we considered. It was in the top half of cities for per pupil spending, district test scores, average disposable income and student-population growth. Seattle is also home to one the country’s best high school jazz bands: the Garfield High School Jazz Band has won the Essentially Ellington National Jazz Band Competition four out of the past twelve years, and placed second twice.

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7. Warren, Michigan

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One of just two cities in the top ten not located on either the east or west coast, Warren rated especially well for teacher employment growth. It was 19^th overall in that factor, with the Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills metro area adding over 5,000 teachers since 2011, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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8. San Francisco, California

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Teachers who are looking to move to the Bay Area should have little trouble finding a job there in future years. The San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood metro area had the ninth highest rate of teacher employment growth of the cities we examined, and the 17^th highest rate of student population growth.

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9. Bellevue, Washington

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Across Lake Washington from 6^th ranked Seattle, Bellevue routinely receives accolades for its high quality schools. Unsurprisingly, the Bellevue School District had the second highest math and reading test score average of the cities in our study.

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10. Wilmington, Delaware

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The 10^th best city for teachers, Wilmington rated 15^th overall for per pupil spending. On average, the Christina School District (named for the river that passes through Wilmington), spends just over $17,000 per student, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

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1. Augusta, Georgia

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With an average ranking of 85^th across the five categories we considered, Augusta, Georgia was the least teacher-friendly city in our study. The Augusta metro area is especially notable for its low rates of teacher-employment growth and student-population growth. It rated 97^th and 107^th respectively in those two categories.

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2. Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Teachers in the Albuquerque metro area were among the most poorly paid of any city in our study. On average, they made $45,165 as of 2013, but when factoring for the cost of housing in Albuquerque, disposable income for a typical teacher could be as low as $36,800.

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3. San Bernardino, California

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The results for San Bernardino are in some ways contradictory. On the one hand, teachers in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan are among the most highly paid in the country, with an average disposable income of over $60,000. On the other hand, the area has actually been losing teachers in the past few years: teacher employment fell by over 8% from 2011 to 2013, the third highest rate of employment loss of any area in our study.

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4. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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In the most recent district report card released by the Louisiana Department of Education, Baton Rouge had more failing schools (16) than schools receiving an A (11). As a whole, the East Baton Rouge Parish School District averaged a C grade, lower than the state average B. One potential avenue for improvement is higher teacher pay: teachers in Baton Rouge make an average of $49,238, and their disposable income ranked 93^rdout of the 116 cities in our study.

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5. Stockton, California

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The 2012 municipal bankruptcy filing in Stockton has forced the city to make cuts in many parts of its budget, and the area’s teachers have not escaped the repercussions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of teachers employed in the Stockton metro area fell by over 4% from 2011 to 2013.

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6. Kansas City, Missouri

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Kansas City rated in the bottom 50 for four of the five categories in our study. Teachers in the Kansas City metro area have the 9^th lowest average disposable income of any city in our study, and the Kansas City School District had the 9^th lowest average score on math and reading tests.

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7. Oxnard, California

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Though Oxnard resides in one of the wealthier parts of the country, its teachers and students have by-and-large missed out on the benefits of that wealth. Per student spending is just $8,508 in Oxnard, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 24^th lowest of any city in our study.

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8. Gary, Indiana

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An industrial town located on the southernmost shores of Lake Michigan, Gary’s population has fallen by over 50% since the 1960s. More relevant to our study, however is what’s happened to the under-15 population, which has fallen 1.5% annually in recent years. This trend may limit long-term job prospects for the city’s teachers.

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9. Jacksonville, Florida

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The most populous city in Florida (though not the most populous metro area) Jacksonville rated especially poorly for teacher pay and spending per student. It ranked 104^th and 96^th respectively in those two categories.

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10. Miami, Florida

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Like those in Jacksonville, teachers in Miami are not particularly well-paid. Disposable income for a typical teacher in the greater Miami area is around $34,600, 7^th lowest of any city we examined.

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Photo credit: flickr

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\n","featuredImage":{"id":"cG9zdDoxNzE1MzQ=","databaseId":171534,"altText":"Top 5 Problems With the Unemployment Rate","date":"2022-11-08T17:15:15","fileSize":41868,"mimeType":"image/jpeg","modified":"2022-11-08T17:15:15","sourceUrl":"https://smartasset.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/11/UE-1-1.jpg","__typename":"MediaItem"},"modified":{"datetime":"2024-3-1","readable":"March 1, 2024"},"multipleBylinesByRole":{"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"writtenBy":null,"factCheckedBy":{"id":"dXNlcjoxMzY=","databaseId":136,"userId":136,"avatar":{"url":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/1d295f71ad5f26fc505155b8d7e5e2a0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","size":96,"__typename":"Avatar"},"description":"Jeff is a Writer/Editor for SmartAsset. He's an expert in a variety of personal finance topics, such as investing, banking and retirement. Jeff has received his JD and MBA and has been featured in a number of publications, such as Investopedia, The Street, Forbes, Yahoo! Finance and more. He currently resides in Utah with his wife and five children, where they cheer for the Denver Broncos and make it to the water to sail whenever given the chance. Jeff currently holds the Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®) designation.","additionalMeta":{"expertise":"Financial Planning, Small Business, Retirement, Banking","__typename":"User_Additionalmeta"},"email":null,"firstName":"Jeff","fullName":"Jeff White, CEPF®","lastName":"White, CEPF®","name":"Jeff White, CEPF®","postCount":{"pageInfo":{"offsetPagination":{"total":16,"__typename":"OffsetPaginationPageInfo"},"__typename":"UserToPostConnectionPageInfo"},"__typename":"UserToPostConnection"},"slug":"jwhite","__typename":"User"},"secondEditor":null,"hideAuthor":null,"__typename":"Post_Multiplebylinesbyrole"},"adTargetingOverrides":{"fieldGroupName":"adTargetingOverrides","pageGroupNewKey":null,"__typename":"Post_Adtargetingoverrides"},"seo":{"canonical":"https://smartasset.com/career/problems-with-the-unemployment-rate","metaDesc":"The unemployment rate gets plenty of media coverage. But it's not a perfect measure of joblessness. Learn more about this here.","metaKeywords":"","metaRobotsNofollow":"follow","metaRobotsNoindex":"index","readingTime":5,"title":"5 Problems With the Unemployment Rate","__typename":"PostTypeSEO"},"slug":"problems-with-the-unemployment-rate","status":"publish","title":"5 Problems With the Unemployment Rate","uri":"/career/problems-with-the-unemployment-rate","tags":{"nodes":[],"__typename":"PostToTagConnection"},"__typename":"Post","adPageGroupOverride":null,"bylines":{"writtenBy":{"id":"dXNlcjo1Mw==","databaseId":53,"userId":53,"avatar":"$45","description":"Amanda Dixon is a personal finance writer and editor with an expertise in taxes and banking. She studied journalism and sociology at the University of Georgia. Her work has been featured in Business Insider, AOL, Bankrate, The Huffington Post, Fox Business News, Mashable and CBS News. Born and raised in metro Atlanta, Amanda currently lives in Brooklyn.","additionalMeta":"$46","email":null,"firstName":"Amanda","fullName":"Amanda Dixon","lastName":"Dixon","name":"Amanda Dixon","postCount":"$47","slug":"amanda-dixon","__typename":"User"},"editedBy":null,"reviewedBy":null,"factCheckedBy":{"id":"dXNlcjoxMzY=","databaseId":136,"userId":136,"avatar":"$4a","description":"Jeff is a Writer/Editor for SmartAsset. He's an expert in a variety of personal finance topics, such as investing, banking and retirement. Jeff has received his JD and MBA and has been featured in a number of publications, such as Investopedia, The Street, Forbes, Yahoo! Finance and more. He currently resides in Utah with his wife and five children, where they cheer for the Denver Broncos and make it to the water to sail whenever given the chance. Jeff currently holds the Certified Educator in Personal Finance (CEPF®) designation.","additionalMeta":"$4b","email":null,"firstName":"Jeff","fullName":"Jeff White, CEPF®","lastName":"White, CEPF®","name":"Jeff White, CEPF®","postCount":"$4c","slug":"jeff-white-cepf","__typename":"User"},"secondEditor":null},"category":{"id":"dGVybTo4OQ==","children":"$4f","databaseId":89,"categoryId":89,"link":"https://smartasset.com/career/articles","name":"Career","postCount":38,"slug":"career","ancestors":null,"parent":null,"__typename":"Category"},"isModifiedBeforePublished":false,"contentBlocks":["

The unemployment rate gets plenty of media coverage. This ratio represents the percentage of people in the labor force without jobs who’ve been actively looking for work within a four-week period. Many people believe that it’s a good indication of the economy’s overall strength. But others recognize that it has its flaws, as it can miss areas of the market entirely.

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Are you worried about your finances if you were to become unemployed? Speak with a financial advisor today.

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1. Unemployment Doesn’t Account for Discouraged Workers

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Discouraged workers aren’t included in the official unemployment rate. These are the adults who’ve looked for jobs at some point in the past 12 months, but not in the four weeks before the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) conducts its monthly survey of households. What’s distinctive about them is that they’re said to be “discouraged” because they’ve given up on finding jobs (at least temporarily).

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The BLS focuses on several reasons why workers are discouraged. One explanation is that these individuals think they’re unqualified for the jobs that are available. Another is that they don’t believe there are enough jobs.

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2. Unemployment Ignores Other Marginally Attached Workers

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A discouraged worker is an example of a marginally attached worker. Other marginally attached workers aren’t in the labor force because they haven’t looked for work in the past month for various reasons (even though they have looked for a job in the past year).

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In other words, if you were looking for a job on May 1 but took a break in June to care for a sick parent or child, you’d be a marginally attached worker in July. But you wouldn’t be considered unemployed. Ignoring marginally attached workers in the official unemployment rate can make it seem as though there are fewer unemployed people.

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3. Unemployment Doesn’t Separate Part-Time and Full-Time Workers

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Another problem with the official unemployment rate is that it doesn’t consider the quality of jobs that workers have. People are considered employed if they have part-time or temporary jobs. They’re also counted as being employed if they have low-skilled jobs that they took just to put food on the table.

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4. Unemployment Doesn’t Consider Whether People Have Low-Paying Jobs

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Many people who can’t find jobs that match their skill level are forced to take jobs with low wages. These underemployed people make up a large part of the workforce. But the official unemployment rate (also known as the U-3 measure) doesn’t acknowledge them.

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Without addressing the issue of underemployment, the unemployment rate paints a distorted picture of where the labor market stands. Having too many workers who are unhappy with their jobs or who aren’t reaching their full potential could ultimately be problematic. Paying off debt or saving for retirement can be challenging for a worker with an underpaid, part-time gig. Dissatisfaction with work can also lead workers to be less productive.

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5. Unemployment Doesn’t Capture the Long-Term Unemployment Rate

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Anyone who hasn’t been working for at least 27 weeks is considered to be long-term unemployed. Millions of Americans fall into this category. But the unemployment rate doesn’t consider how long people haven’t had jobs.

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Failing to focus on folks who’ve been out of work for a while can make it difficult to create policies that help them. A report from the BLS says that long-term unemployment has recently declined. But from a historical perspective, it’s not as low as it could be.

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Bottom Line

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The unemployment rate isn’t an accurate measure of joblessness simply because it doesn’t consider everyone who doesn’t have a job. That’s why many economic experts instead focus on what’s known as the real unemployment rate.

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The real unemployment rate (technically called the U-6 measure) is reported on a monthly basis in the jobs report along with the official unemployment rate and four other measures of unemployment. Unlike the official unemployment rate, however, it takes underemployed and marginally attached workers (including discouraged workers) into consideration as well as unemployed people.

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Financial Planning Tips

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