Generally, states requiring masters degrees pay more than $40-50k a year. Teaching is a rewarding profession, so naturally there will be a lot of teachers willing to work, which depresses wages. Regardless, teachers get paid well above medium incomes regardless of where they live.

I agree that teachers should be paid more, particularly newer ones, but I blame the unions for this. So much money gets funneled into pensions, which only a small fraction of teachers ever get.