Average Public School Teacher Salary by State: 2024–25 Ranking
Where Public School Teacher Salaries Were Highest in 2024-25
California ranked first at $103,552 in average annual public school teacher salary, followed by New York ($98,655) and Washington ($96,589). Mississippi ranked last at $54,975. The NEA-reported national average was $74,495, up from the revised 2023-24 national average of $71,985.
This descending ranking covers 50 states and the District of Columbia (51 jurisdictions), using average annual regularly paid gross salaries in nominal U.S. dollars. The figures come from the National Education Association (NEA), Rankings of the States 2025, Table B-6, updated in August 2026. Source checked October 13, 2026. All 51 rankings use the 2024-25 school year; no 2025-26 salary projections are included.
NEA marks four 2024-25 salaries as estimates based on American Community Survey data: Connecticut, District of Columbia, Montana and Rhode Island. The other 47 are not marked as estimates in Table B-6. All 51 figures were published by NEA; this ranking does not create or forecast salaries.
California, 2024-25; NEA-published.
Mississippi, 2024-25; NEA-published.
50 states plus D.C.; all have values.
U.S. total published by NEA; annual USD.
StatRanker calculation from 51 NEA values.
Four ACS-based estimates; the other 47 are not marked as estimated.
Overview: How Much Do Public School Teachers Earn by State?
The ranking compares average salaries of public school classroom teachers, not starting salaries, individual teachers' take-home pay or wages for every education employee. NEA defines average salary as the arithmetic mean of regularly paid annual gross salaries before employee deductions and benefits. These are state-level averages, so actual compensation can differ considerably by school district, experience and assignment.
The $74,495 U.S. average is weighted by the number of teachers in each state. It is not the simple mean of 51 state-and-D.C. averages. By contrast, the $69,254 jurisdiction median is the 26th salary in a descending list of 51 jurisdictions: Virginia, rank 26. Keeping these two measures separate shows both the national payroll-weighted picture and the midpoint of the geographic distribution.
The 51 salaries also cluster in the middle rather than near the extremes: 32 jurisdictions (62.7%) fall between $60,000 and $79,999; 10 fall from $80,000 to $99,999; eight are below $60,000; and only California exceeds $100,000. These bands describe the 51 ranked jurisdictions, not the proportion of U.S. teachers.
All state values refer to 2024-25 in current dollars. Rankings do not adjust for cost of living, taxes, pensions, the length of the work year, or inflation. A higher dollar salary does not necessarily imply higher purchasing power.
Top 10 States and D.C. by Average Public School Teacher Salary
Five of the top ten jurisdictions are in the Northeast under U.S. Census regional definitions, three in the West and two in the South (including D.C.). The table is ranked by published 2024-25 salary, not by annual salary growth.
| Rank | State / D.C. | Annual salary | Region / note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $103,552 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25); unflagged published value. |
| 2 | New York | $98,655 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25); unflagged published value. |
| 3 | Washington | $96,589 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25); unflagged published value. |
| 4 | District of Columbia | $95,077 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25); ACS-based NEA estimate. |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $93,554 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25); unflagged published value. |
| 6 | Connecticut | $89,593 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25); ACS-based NEA estimate. |
| 7 | Maryland | $87,409 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25); unflagged published value. |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $85,772 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25); ACS-based NEA estimate. |
| 9 | New Jersey | $84,974 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25); unflagged value, with earlier ACS estimation noted by NEA. |
| 10 | Oregon | $81,657 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25); unflagged published value. |
Source: NEA Table B-6. NEA marks the District of Columbia, Connecticut and Rhode Island figures as estimated. The other Top 10 salaries have no estimate marker in that table.
Chart: The 20 Highest Average Teacher Salaries, 2024-25
Bar widths use each jurisdiction's 2024-25 salary divided by California's $103,552, multiplied by 100. The chart uses the same whole-dollar salaries as the table; it does not show annual raises or pay adjusted for living costs. District of Columbia, Connecticut and Rhode Island within the Top 20 are NEA-estimated historical values.
Methodology and Data Reliability
Metric and direction
Arithmetic average annual regularly paid gross salary of public school classroom teachers. Rank 1 is the highest nominal U.S.-dollar salary. Published state values are recorded to the nearest dollar, with no ranking based on rounded thousands.
Period and retrieval
School year 2024-25 (also called 2025 in NEA's report). Source: August 2026 updated 2026 NEA report, Rankings 2025, Table B-6. Accessed October 13, 2026. The adjacent 2025-26 estimates in Table E-6 are excluded.
Coverage and missing values
All 50 states plus D.C., 51 rows, no missing jurisdictions. U.S. aggregate is shown separately as a comparison, not ranked as a 52nd jurisdiction. Puerto Rico, territories, private schools and postsecondary faculty are not ranked.
Source and value status
NEA is the sole source of salary figures. Of the 51 jurisdictions, 47 have no estimate marker in Table B-6 and four are explicitly marked as estimates based on American Community Survey data. Those four figures describe 2024-25 and are not forecasts or salary estimates created by StatRanker. The NEA website provides an additional check from the same publisher, not an independent second salary source.
Geographic and reporting differences
U.S. Census regions define Northeast, Midwest, South (including D.C.) and West. NEA state notes identify coverage limitations in Arizona (charter salary exclusion), North Carolina (public charters excluded; supplements included but not bonuses) and Missouri (Teacher Baseline Salary Grant payments excluded). These qualifications also appear in their individual ranking rows. NEA also discusses earlier ACS-based estimation for Illinois and New Jersey; neither 2024-25 figure carries an estimate marker in Table B-6.
Comparability and conflicts
Use the August 2026 revision over earlier versions when discrepancies arise, especially for Florida and Tennessee. Do not average conflicting publications. NEA notes that states' accounting and reporting practices are not always fully comparable.
Source values versus additional calculations
NEA reports the 2024-25 salary for each jurisdiction, the revised 2023-24 comparison, both sets of ranks, annual changes and the $74,495 teacher-weighted U.S. average. StatRanker calculates the jurisdiction median, salary-band counts, highest-to-lowest gap and ratio, regional medians, counts above or below the U.S. average, and movements between NEA ranks. These are comparisons of past data, not forecasts.
No inflation adjustment or salary projection is made. Dollar values and NEA-published year-over-year changes are shown at their source precision; derived ratios and percentages are rounded only after calculation. NEA does not include the underlying ACS records or complete calculations for its four flagged estimates in Table B-6. This ranking uses those values as NEA published them; it does not attempt to recreate the estimates. The metric does not measure starting pay, individual earnings, workload, bonuses, purchasing power, teacher shortages, instructional quality or pay after deductions.
Full Ranking: Average Public School Teacher Salary in All 50 States and D.C.
Search by state or D.C., filter by Census region or NEA estimate marker, and sort by salary, name or annual growth. Choose Top 10, Top 20 or All 51. Search automatically switches to All 51 so states outside the Top 10 can still be found. Rank numbers always refer to 2024-25 salaries.
Showing all 51 of 51 jurisdictions
| Rank | State / D.C. | Annual salary | Region / source / method |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $103,552 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $101,084, rank #1; annual change +2.44%. |
| 2 | New York | $98,655 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $95,615, rank #2; annual change +3.18%. |
| 3 | Washington | $96,589 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $91,720, rank #3; annual change +5.31%. |
| 4 | District of Columbia | $95,077 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), ACS-based NEA estimate. Revised 2023-24: $86,663, rank #5; annual change +9.71%. |
| 5 | Massachusetts | $93,554 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $91,014, rank #4; annual change +2.79%. |
| 6 | Connecticut | $89,593 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25), ACS-based NEA estimate. Revised 2023-24: $86,511, rank #6; annual change +3.56%. |
| 7 | Maryland | $87,409 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $84,338, rank #7; annual change +3.64%. |
| 8 | Rhode Island | $85,772 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25), ACS-based NEA estimate. Revised 2023-24: $82,189, rank #9; annual change +4.36%. |
| 9 | New Jersey | $84,974 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $82,877, rank #8; annual change +2.53%. NEA state note: historical ACS-based estimation since 2011-12; the 2024-25 figure is not marked as an estimate. |
| 10 | Oregon | $81,657 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $77,130, rank #11; annual change +5.87%. |
| 11 | Alaska | $81,450 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $78,256, rank #10; annual change +4.08%. |
| 12 | Pennsylvania | $79,078 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $76,961, rank #12; annual change +2.75%. |
| 13 | Illinois | $78,495 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $75,978, rank #13; annual change +3.31%. NEA state note: historical ACS-based estimation since 2014-15; the 2024-25 figure is not marked as an estimate. |
| 14 | Delaware | $76,570 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $71,186, rank #16; annual change +7.56%. |
| 15 | Minnesota | $76,234 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $72,430, rank #15; annual change +5.25%. |
| 16 | Hawaii | $75,860 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $74,222, rank #14; annual change +2.21%. |
| 17 | Nevada | $74,812 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $66,930, rank #25; annual change +11.78%. |
| 18 | Utah | $72,882 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $69,161, rank #18; annual change +5.38%. |
| 19 | Colorado | $72,781 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $68,647, rank #20; annual change +6.02%. |
| 20 | Vermont | $71,871 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $69,555, rank #17; annual change +3.33%. |
| 21 | Georgia | $71,524 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $67,641, rank #23; annual change +5.74%. |
| 22 | Michigan | $71,023 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $69,068, rank #19; annual change +2.83%. |
| 23 | Ohio | $70,586 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $68,236, rank #22; annual change +3.44%. |
| 24 | New Mexico | $69,736 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $68,440, rank #21; annual change +1.89%. |
| 25 | New Hampshire | $69,432 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $67,170, rank #24; annual change +3.37%. |
| 26 | Virginia | $69,254 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $66,327, rank #26; annual change +4.41%. |
| 27 | Wisconsin | $67,794 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $65,762, rank #27; annual change +3.09%. |
| 28 | Wyoming | $65,668 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $63,669, rank #28; annual change +3.14%. |
| 29 | Maine | $65,621 | Northeast; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $62,569, rank #30; annual change +4.88%. |
| 30 | Iowa | $65,312 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $62,399, rank #32; annual change +4.67%. |
| 31 | Arizona | $64,291 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $62,714, rank #29; annual change +2.51%. NEA state note: charter-school teacher salaries excluded; figures use Arizona's School District Employee Report. |
| 32 | South Carolina | $64,050 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $60,763, rank #36; annual change +5.41%. |
| 33 | Texas | $63,749 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $62,463, rank #31; annual change +2.06%. |
| 34 | Nebraska | $63,326 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $60,239, rank #37; annual change +5.12%. |
| 35 | Alabama | $62,985 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $61,912, rank #33; annual change +1.73%. |
| 36 | Idaho | $62,786 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $61,516, rank #34; annual change +2.06%. |
| 37 | Oklahoma | $61,931 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $61,330, rank #35; annual change +0.98%. |
| 38 | Indiana | $61,661 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $58,620, rank #38; annual change +5.19%. |
| 39 | Kansas | $61,470 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $58,276, rank #44; annual change +5.48%. |
| 40 | Tennessee | $61,222 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $58,610, rank #39; annual change +4.46%. |
| 41 | North Dakota | $60,704 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $58,581, rank #40; annual change +3.62%. |
| 42 | Kentucky | $60,594 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $58,325, rank #42; annual change +3.89%. |
| 43 | North Carolina | $60,323 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $58,292, rank #43; annual change +3.48%. NEA state note: public charters excluded; local supplements included, but bonuses and additional pay excluded. |
| 44 | Montana | $59,305 | West; NEA B-6 (2024-25), ACS-based NEA estimate. Revised 2023-24: $57,556, rank #45; annual change +3.04%. |
| 45 | Arkansas | $59,193 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $58,337, rank #41; annual change +1.47%. |
| 46 | South Dakota | $58,486 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $56,328, rank #46; annual change +3.83%. |
| 47 | West Virginia | $58,099 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $55,300, rank #48; annual change +5.06%. |
| 48 | Missouri | $57,366 | Midwest; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $55,132, rank #49; annual change +4.05%. NEA state note: Teacher Baseline Salary Grant payments excluded. |
| 49 | Louisiana | $56,785 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $55,911, rank #47; annual change +1.56%. |
| 50 | Florida | $56,663 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $54,875, rank #50; annual change +3.26%. |
| 51 | Mississippi | $54,975 | South; NEA B-6 (2024-25), no estimate flag. Revised 2023-24: $53,704, rank #51; annual change +2.37%. |
All salaries and historical comparisons come from NEA Table B-6 (August 2026 revision). Each row includes the 2024-25 salary, revised 2023-24 salary and rank, and NEA annual percentage change. The four estimated figures and state-specific reporting exclusions are labeled. Ranks follow the full-dollar NEA values.
Teacher Salary Gaps and Regional Patterns
Key Insight
The highest salary average (California, #1, $103,552) exceeds the lowest (Mississippi, #51, $54,975) by $48,577. The leader's value is 1.88 times the last-place value: a difference in nominal state averages, not individual take-home pay.
Notable Pattern
Just 17 of 51 jurisdictions (33.3%) exceed the NEA national teacher-weighted average of $74,495; 34 are below it. The geographic median is $69,254, or $5,241 below the published national mean.
Regional/Source Concentration
Using Census regions, five of the ten highest-paying jurisdictions are in the Northeast (50%), three in the West, two in the South (including D.C.) and none in the Midwest. Of all 51 jurisdictions, 9 are in the Northeast, 12 in the Midwest, 17 in the South and 13 in the West. Median annual salary across the nine Northeast jurisdictions is $84,974 versus $61,931 across 17 South jurisdictions (including D.C.), a $23,043 gap in unadjusted region medians.
Outlier
Nevada rose 8 ranking places, from #25 in 2023-24 to #17 in 2024-25. Its published salary moved from $66,930 to $74,812, a gain of $7,882 (11.78%), the largest one-year percentage increase in NEA B-6.
What These Salaries Mean for Comparing Teaching Jobs
A state rank is a comparison of average nominal annual gross pay across public school systems. It is useful for finding a state's position in the national distribution, but not for estimating an offer from a specific district. A teacher's experience, credentials, job assignment and local pay schedule can change the amount paid.
The national average is weighted by teacher counts, while the jurisdiction median gives each state and D.C. equal weight. They answer different questions; neither is the typical pay of a newly hired teacher. Similarly, NEA's four flagged estimates should be understood as published statistical estimates rather than directly reported salaries.
Before interpreting a difference as a real advantage, also consider local living costs, tax treatment, retirement contributions and exclusions in individual state reporting. For example, NEA states that Arizona's salary measure excludes charter-school teachers, while Missouri's omits payments made through its Teacher Baseline Salary Grant. These limits matter even though the ranking itself uses one consistent published report.
FAQ: Public School Teacher Pay by State, 2024-25
Which state had the highest average teacher salary in 2024-25?
California ranked #1 at $103,552 in annual regularly paid gross salary. New York ranked #2 at $98,655 and Washington ranked #3 at $96,589, using NEA Table B-6.
Which state had the lowest teacher salary average?
Mississippi ranked #51 at $54,975. Florida ranked #50 at $56,663, and Louisiana #49 at $56,785. The ranking includes 50 states plus D.C.
Is the national average $74,495 or the state median $69,254?
Both are valid but different statistics. $74,495 is NEA's teacher-weighted U.S. average for 2024-25; $69,254 is the median of 51 jurisdiction averages calculated for this ranking. The median is Virginia's #26 salary.
Are these 2025-26 projections?
No. The salary year is 2024-25, published in NEA's 2026 report, updated in August 2026. The report separately includes 2025-26 salary estimates in Table E-6; this ranking excludes them.
Why do some states show an NEA estimate?
NEA marks Connecticut ($89,593), District of Columbia ($95,077), Montana ($59,305) and Rhode Island ($85,772) with an estimate asterisk in Table B-6. NEA describes using American Community Survey data to estimate missing salary statistics. These four values concern the historical 2024-25 year, not the separate 2025-26 forecast, and were not calculated by StatRanker. Illinois and New Jersey have a history of ACS-based salary estimation in NEA state notes, but their B-6 cells do not carry an estimate asterisk.
Does a higher average salary mean greater purchasing power?
Not necessarily. The values are current-dollar nominal salaries, not adjusted for regional prices, state or local taxes, housing costs, benefits or work schedules. No cost-of-living-adjusted ranking is claimed.
How are the salary gaps and annual increases calculated?
The extreme gap is $103,552 (California) − $54,975 (Mississippi) = $48,577. For annual changes, use (2024-25 salary − revised 2023-24 salary) / revised 2023-24 salary × 100. For rank movement, subtract the current NEA rank from the previous NEA rank: Nevada moved from #25 to #17, a gain of 8 places, while its average salary rose from $66,930 to $74,812 (+11.78%). The previous-year salary and rank are displayed for each jurisdiction in the main table.
What kind of salary is included in NEA's measure?
It is the average regularly paid gross annual salary of public school classroom teachers before employee deductions. It is not starting teacher salary, an individual contract guarantee, take-home pay, a median worker wage or the average salary of all instructional staff.
Sources and Data Provenance
National Education Association: August 2026 Rankings & Estimates
NUMERIC SOURCE | One publishing organizationNEA's August 2026 revised Table B-6 provides all 51 salaries, the 2023-24 comparisons, ranks and annual changes. Its glossary and state notes explain the four estimate markers and reporting exceptions in Arizona, North Carolina, Missouri, Illinois and New Jersey.
https://www.nea.org/sites/default/files/2026-08/2026-rankings-and-estimates-report-august-update.pdf
NEA: Teacher Pay & Per Student Spending 2026
VALIDATION SOURCE | Same publisher as numeric sourceThis NEA page cross-checks the salary figures, annual changes, $74,495 national average and four marked estimates. It is a second NEA publication, not a separate data publisher.
U.S. Census Bureau: Regions and Divisions
METHODOLOGY SOURCE | Geographic categories onlyProvides the Northeast, Midwest, South and West boundaries used for regional comparisons, including D.C. in the South. It is not a source of salary figures.
https://www.census.gov/data/data-tools/survey-explorer/geo.html
