(NEXSTAR) -- Many teachers across the U.S. continue to face low wages, but in some metropolitan areas, an educator’s salary can stretch further than in others.

The projected average national salary for public school teachers for the 2022-23 school year is $68,469, according to the National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers’ union in the country. When adjusted for inflation, the average has declined by 6.4% over the past decade, the NEA said in its annual Rankings and Estimates report.

In McAllen, Texas, educators have the highest purchasing power compared to teachers in other cities, based on data analyzed by the personal finance firm MoneyGeek.

The average annual salary in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area is $73,153 – but after accounting for taxes and the cost of living, the adjusted take-home pay comes to $68,271. Again, that’s still higher than elsewhere in the country, according to MoneyGeek's report, which ranked the metro areas that offer the best real income........

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