Start with the answer
Teachers and Instructors, All Other pay in New Jersey and Rhode Island
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median for Teachers and Instructors, All Other is $73,590 per year in New Jersey. It is $130,480 per year in Rhode Island. New Jersey is 43.6% below Rhode Island on the published median.
Both rows use SOC 25-3099 and the same annual wage metric. Median means the middle of each area's published wage spread. It is not one worker's pay. The larger median is not proof that one place gives a better job or a better result. It is one wage fact from one source period.
BLS lists 1,720 wage and salary jobs in New Jersey and 410 in Rhode Island. Those are survey job counts, not open posts. Read pay, job scale, local share, and price level as separate facts before you make a choice.
Evidence: bls-oews-may-2025 · Rule: same-soc-same-metric-pair · nominal-median-gap · employment-not-openings