At the end of the day—a day spent wrangling students, grading papers, coaching sports, and managing parents—teacher salaries are too low. That’s the conclusion of the National Council on Teacher Quality (and many others). The average teacher salary also varies—a lot.
In 2024, the average teacher salary is $69,554. It ranges from $52,870 in West Virginia to $95,160 in California. Yes, those states have very different costs of living, but typically, the cost of living for the average teacher’s salary is below the minimum living wage for the state.
For 2024, there were salary increases in some states, but the 2024 NEA Educator Pay in America Report reported that, on the whole, average teacher pay has not kept up with inflation. On average, adjusted for inflation, teachers make 5% less than they did a decade ago. One thing that does increase pay: unions. Teachers in states with collective bargaining earned 26% more on average than those without.
Some states didn’t change their salaries from last year at all (D.C., Massachusetts, and Connecticut all maintained their salaries from 2023 to 2024). Some states increased their average salary significantly, like Vermont, which increased from $63,291 to $66,536, and Alabama, which increased from $56,109 to $69,544. And others decreased (Colorado’s average salary decreased from $61,970 to $60,775).
Read the full NEA report.
Here are the average teacher salaries by state for 2024.
15 Highest-Paying States (and D.C.) in 2024
1. California
California average teacher salary: $95,160
2. New York
New York average teacher salary: $92,696
3. Massachusetts
Massachusetts average teacher salary: $92,307
4. Washington
Washington average teacher salary: $86,804
5. District of Columbia
District of Columbia average teacher salary: $84,882
6. Connecticut
Connecticut average teacher salary: $83,400
7. New Jersey
New Jersey average teacher salary: $81,102
8. Maryland
Maryland average teacher salary: $79,420
9. Rhode Island
Rhode Island average teacher salary: $79,289
10. Alaska
Alaska average teacher salary: $76,371
11. Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania average teacher salary: $74,945
12. Illinois
Illinois average teacher salary: $73,916
13. Oregon
Oregon average teacher salary: $72,476
14. Hawaii
Hawaii average teacher salary: $70,947
15. Minnesota
Minnesota average teacher salary: $70,005
How do the rest of the states stack up?
16. Alabama
Alabama average teacher salary: $69,544
17. Delaware
Delaware average teacher salary: $68,787
18. Michigan
Michigan average teacher salary: $67,011
19. Vermont
Vermont average teacher salary: $66,536
20. Ohio
Ohio average teacher salary: $66,390
21. Georgia
Georgia average teacher salary: $64,461
22. New Hampshire
New Hampshire average teacher salary: $64,169
23. New Mexico
New Mexico average teacher salary: $63,580
24. Utah
Utah average teacher salary: $63,481
25. Virginia
Virginia average teacher salary: $63,103
26. Wisconsin
Wisconsin average teacher salary: $62,524
27. Wyoming
Wyoming average teacher salary: $61,979
28. Nevada
Nevada average teacher salary: $61,719
29. Iowa
Iowa average teacher salary: $61,231
30. Colorado
Colorado average teacher salary: $60,775
31. Texas
Texas average teacher salary: $60,716
32. Arizona
Arizona average teacher salary: $60,275
33. Maine
Maine average teacher salary: $59,964
34. Nebraska
Nebraska average teacher salary: $58,763
35. South Carolina
South Carolina average teacher salary: $57,778
36. Indiana
Indiana average teacher salary: $57,015
37. North Dakota
North Dakota average teacher salary: $56,792
38. North Carolina
North Carolina average teacher salary: $56,559
39. Kansas
Kansas average teacher salary: $56,481
40. Idaho
Idaho average teacher salary: $56,365
41. Kentucky
Kentucky average teacher salary: $56,296
42. Montana
Montana average teacher salary: $55,909
43. Oklahoma
Oklahoma average teacher salary: $55,505
44. Tennessee
Tennessee average teacher salary: $55,369
45. Arkansas
Arkansas average teacher salary: $54,309
46. Louisiana
Louisiana average teacher salary: $54,258
47. Missouri
Missouri average teacher salary: $53,999
48. Mississippi
Mississippi average teacher salary: $53,354
49. South Dakota
South Dakota average teacher salary: $53,153
50. Florida
Florida average teacher salary: $53,098
51. West Virginia
West Virginia average teacher salary: $52,870
Find out how these states compare with the highest-paying states for special education teachers.
How much does your salary factor into where you teach? Share in our We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.
