A new National Education Association (NEA) review finds that although the national average salary for U.S. public school teachers rose in nominal terms, inflation has erased real gains. The NEA reports the average teacher salary reached $74,495 in the last school year, a 3.5% increase from the year before, based on roughly 3.2 million public school teachers (figures exclude benefits).
Despite that nominal increase, NEA projections comparing 2026 salary averages (using state projections or NEA estimates) with 2017 show that inflation-adjusted teacher pay is nearly 5% lower than it was in 2017. NEA President Becky Pringle said educators deserve pay that reflects their expertise and helps keep them in the profession.
Top and bottom state averages: the highest average teacher salaries for 2024–25 were California ($103,552), New York ($98,655) and Washington ($96,589). The lowest were Mississippi ($54,975), Florida ($56,663) and Louisiana ($56,785). These state figures are not adjusted for regional cost-of-living differences.
Starting pay: the national average starting salary for new teachers was $48,112, up 3.4% in 2024–25 but showing under 1% real growth after inflation. Highest starting salaries were in the District of Columbia ($64,640), Washington ($60,658), California ($59,424), New Jersey ($58,727) and Utah ($57,849). The lowest starting pay was in Montana ($36,682), followed by Nebraska ($39,561), Missouri ($40,682), Oklahoma ($41,294) and Kentucky ($41,901). These figures are not adjusted for regional cost differences.
Support staff: K–12 support personnel (custodians, cafeteria workers, paraeducators, bus drivers and security staff) averaged $36,360, about $1,400 more than the prior year. However, compared with 2016, researchers estimate a $2,344 decline in real pay for support staff.
Notable state story: Washington stands out as one of only 11 states with inflation-adjusted pay increases since 2017, posting about a 36% rise. That gain was driven in part by a state supreme court order and follow-up enforcement actions that required larger school funding commitments.
Collective bargaining correlation: states that allow collective bargaining tend to have higher teacher pay. NEA data show starting salaries are about $366 higher and top salaries about $15,105 higher in states with bargaining laws; support staff earn roughly 13% more where bargaining is permitted. Over 80% of school districts are in states with some form of bargaining law, while seven states expressly prohibit bargaining for teachers. The report notes these are correlations, not proof of direct causation. South Carolina is noted as an exception: despite lacking a bargaining law, lawmakers approved an 11% raise for starting teachers.
Enrollment and class size: public school enrollment at the start of 2024–25 was nearly 49 million students, a 0.3% drop from the previous fall and about a 3.6% decline since 2016. NEA researchers estimate enrollment fell another 1% between last year and the current school year. The student‑teacher ratio averaged 15.1 students per teacher in 2024–25, unchanged from 2023–24, though state variation is wide: Arizona, Nevada and Utah averaged about 22 students per teacher, while Vermont, New York and D.C. averaged roughly 10–11.
School funding mix: the federal government plays a relatively small role in K–12 funding. Federal dollars—largely targeted to student-poverty mitigation and special education—accounted for about 7.8% of school revenue in the last school year and are estimated at 7.3% for 2025. States provided an estimated 47% of school funding for 2025 and local sources (including property taxes) about 45%. The federal share has declined in part because COVID-19 relief funds have wound down, and states varied in how quickly they spent those dollars.
States where federal support still makes up 10% or more of school funding include: Kentucky (17.5%), Alaska (16.5%), New Mexico (14.1%), Louisiana (14.1%), Arkansas (13%), South Dakota (12.4%), West Virginia (11.9%), Mississippi (11.8%), Montana (11.4%), South Carolina (10.8%), Tennessee (10.6%), Alabama (10.3%), Arizona (10.3%) and Florida (10.2%).
Bottom line: while nominal pay and some state-level raises have increased, inflation has substantially eaten into teachers’ and support staff’s real earnings over the past several years, leaving overall compensation below its purchasing-power level from 2017.