EdCircuit Staff 
The average teacher salary in the United States is an estimated $76,552 for the 2025–26 school year, up 2.8 percent from $74,495 in 2024–25, according to the National Education Association’s latest estimates. Pay varies widely by state, from more than $100,000 in California and New York to about $56,500 in Mississippi. And after inflation, the average teacher earns less than a decade ago.
This guide covers average and starting teacher pay, salaries in every state, how teacher pay compares with other jobs, and the raise laws states have passed.
Average teacher salary at a glance
| Measure | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Average classroom teacher salary, 2025–26 (estimate) | $76,552 | NEA |
| Average classroom teacher salary, 2024–25 | $74,495 | NEA |
| Average starting teacher salary, 2024–25 | $48,112 | NEA |
| Median pay, high school teachers, May 2025 | $72,040 | BLS |
| Median pay, middle school teachers, May 2025 | $64,370 | BLS |
| Median pay, kindergarten and elementary teachers, May 2025 | $63,820 | BLS |
NEA reports averages for classroom teachers at all experience levels; the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports medians, the midpoint of all teachers’ pay, for each grade level (high school, middle school, kindergarten and elementary). High school teachers in local public schools had a median of $74,190, compared with $61,810 in private schools.
Teacher salary by state
The table shows NEA’s average classroom teacher salary for 2024–25 and its estimate for 2025–26, ranked by the 2025–26 estimate. Texas had the largest one-year increase, 6.7 percent; North Carolina was the only state where the average fell.
| Rank (2025–26) | State | 2024–25 average | 2025–26 estimate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $103,552 | $105,726 | +2.1% |
| 2 | New York | $98,655 | $100,367 | +1.7% |
| 3 | Washington | $96,589 | $99,649 | +3.2% |
| 4 | District of Columbia | $95,077 | $96,971 | +2.0% |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $93,554 | $96,165 | +2.8% |
| 6 | Connecticut | $89,593 | $91,081 | +1.7% |
| 7 | Maryland | $87,409 | $90,741 | +3.8% |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $85,772 | $88,120 | +2.7% |
| 9 | New Jersey | $84,974 | $86,096 | +1.3% |
| 10 | Oregon | $81,657 | $83,727 | +2.5% |
| 11 | Alaska | $81,450 | $82,629 | +1.4% |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | $79,078 | $81,142 | +2.6% |
| 13 | Illinois | $78,495 | $80,077 | +2.0% |
| 14 | Delaware | $76,570 | $78,614 | +2.7% |
| 15 | Minnesota | $76,234 | $78,007 | +2.3% |
| 16 | Hawaii | $75,860 | $77,812 | +2.6% |
| 17 | Utah | $72,882 | $75,306 | +3.3% |
| 18 | Nevada | $74,812 | $75,074 | +0.3% |
| 19 | Colorado | $72,781 | $74,790 | +2.8% |
| 20 | Vermont | $71,871 | $73,694 | +2.5% |
| 21 | Michigan | $71,023 | $73,088 | +2.9% |
| 22 | Georgia | $71,524 | $72,758 | +1.7% |
| 23 | Virginia | $69,254 | $72,014 | +4.0% |
| 24 | Ohio | $70,586 | $71,868 | +1.8% |
| 25 | New Hampshire | $69,432 | $71,857 | +3.5% |
| 26 | New Mexico | $69,736 | $71,057 | +1.9% |
| 27 | Wisconsin | $67,794 | $68,943 | +1.7% |
| 28 | Maine | $65,621 | $68,820 | +4.9% |
| 29 | Texas | $63,749 | $68,001 | +6.7% |
| 30 | Wyoming | $65,668 | $67,914 | +3.4% |
| 31 | South Carolina | $64,050 | $67,107 | +4.8% |
| 32 | Iowa | $65,312 | $67,041 | +2.6% |
| 33 | Arizona | $64,291 | $66,748 | +3.8% |
| 34 | Idaho | $62,786 | $66,085 | +5.2% |
| 35 | Nebraska | $63,326 | $64,854 | +2.4% |
| 36 | Alabama | $62,985 | $64,466 | +2.4% |
| 37 | Kansas | $61,470 | $63,411 | +3.2% |
| 38 | Indiana | $61,661 | $63,116 | +2.4% |
| 39 | Tennessee | $61,222 | $62,941 | +2.8% |
| 40 | Kentucky | $60,594 | $62,457 | +3.1% |
| 41 | North Dakota | $60,704 | $62,325 | +2.7% |
| 42 | Oklahoma | $61,931 | $62,055 | +0.2% |
| 43 | South Dakota | $58,486 | $60,451 | +3.4% |
| 44 | Montana | $59,305 | $60,392 | +1.8% |
| 45 | Arkansas | $59,193 | $60,120 | +1.6% |
| 46 | North Carolina | $60,323 | $59,971 | -0.6% |
| 47 | Missouri | $57,366 | $59,534 | +3.8% |
| 48 | West Virginia | $58,099 | $58,281 | +0.3% |
| 49 | Florida | $56,663 | $58,069 | +2.5% |
| 50 | Louisiana | $56,785 | $57,660 | +1.5% |
| 51 | Mississippi | $54,975 | $56,504 | +2.8% |
| United States | $74,495 | $76,552 | +2.8% |
Source: NEA, Rankings of the States 2025 and Estimates of School Statistics 2026 (August 2026 update). Ranks are sorted from NEA’s estimates.
Starting teacher salaries
The average starting salary for a new teacher was $48,112 in 2024–25, up 3.4 percent but only 0.7 percent after inflation, according to NEA’s Teacher Salary Benchmark. The District of Columbia had the highest average starting salary, $64,640, and Montana the lowest, $36,682. Washington ($60,658), California ($59,424) and New Jersey ($58,727) were also near the top.
Is teacher pay keeping up?
By most measures, no. NEA estimates that the average teacher salary in 2025–26 is about 4.6 percent lower than in 2016–17 after adjusting for inflation, even though it rose 28 percent in dollars. The Economic Policy Institute’s annual “teacher pay penalty” study found that teachers earned about 25 percent less in weekly wages than comparable college graduates in 2025, compared with about 6 percent in the mid-1990s, KUAF reported.
Teachers feel the gap. In RAND’s 2026 State of the American Teacher survey, teachers’ average base salary was $75,599, compared with slightly more than $105,000 for similar working adults, and nearly one-third of teachers held a job outside their school system, working about 13 hours a week at it, according to RAND’s summary of the survey. Only 39 percent received a raise larger than inflation from the year before.
NEA also reports that teachers earn 24 percent more in states with collective bargaining.
Teacher raises and minimum salary laws
- Texas. House Bill 2, signed in June 2025, created a Teacher Retention Allotment that districts must spend on base-pay raises. In 2025–26 it provides $4,000 for teachers with three to five years of experience and $8,000 for those with five or more in districts of 5,000 or fewer students, and $2,500 and $5,000 in larger districts, according to the Texas Education Agency. Texas had the largest increase in average pay in NEA’s 2025–26 estimates.
- Arkansas. The 2023 LEARNS Act raised the state minimum teacher salary from $36,000 to $50,000. A 2026 study found that raises of more than $8,000 increased teacher retention in the same district by 3.1 percentage points, while raises of $2,000 to $4,000 showed no change, FutureEd reported.
- Iowa and South Dakota. Iowa raised its minimum teacher salary to $50,000 for fiscal 2026, and South Dakota set a $45,000 minimum starting salary that districts must pay from 2026–27, according to CSG Midwest.
- Tennessee. Starting teacher pay has risen to $50,000 under the state’s Teacher Paycheck Protection Act, Fox 17 reported.
- Maine. State law sets a minimum teacher salary of $45,000 in 2027–28, rising to $50,000 from 2029–30.
The Arkansas study carries a lesson for policymakers: modest raises may not change whether teachers stay, while larger ones can.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average teacher salary? NEA estimates $76,552 for 2025–26, the most recent school year with a national estimate.
Which state pays teachers the most? California, with an estimated average of $105,726 in 2025–26, followed by New York and Washington.
Which state pays teachers the least? Mississippi, with an estimated average of $56,504 in 2025–26, followed by Louisiana and Florida.
What is the average starting salary for teachers? $48,112 in 2024–25, according to NEA.
How much do high school teachers make? The median was $72,040 in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and $74,190 in local public schools.
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