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Starting Teacher Pay 2023

Teacher Salary Benchmarks Report
NEA's Teacher Salary Benchmark Report provides information from 12,000 local school districts on starting teacher salaries and salaries at other points of the teaching career continuum.

Key Takeaways

  1. This is the third largest increase over the thirteen years that NEA has been tracking increases in starting teacher pay.
  2. High inflation that came with the reopening of the economy following the pandemic resulted in the largest real dollar decrease in starting salary since NEA began collecting teacher salary benchmark data.

$42,844

National average starting teacher salary

2.5%

increase of average starting teacher salary over the year prior

Benchmarks

Data collected from 12,000 school districts from across the country show for the 2021-2022 school year an average starting teacher salary of $42,845 and an average top teacher salary of $77,931. District level starting salaries increased by an average of 2.5% over 2020-2021, while top salaries rose by 1.8%.

The 2.5% increase in starting salary was the third largest increase over the thirteen years that NEA has been tracking increases in starting teacher pay. However, the high inflation that came with the reopening of the economy following the pandemic resulted in the largest real dollar decrease in starting salary since NEA began collecting teacher salary benchmark data.

The Advantage of Collective Bargaining

Teachers in states with collective bargaining are paid more, both at the beginning and end of their careers, compared to teachers in states with few or no collective bargaining protections.

Key Findings

4,780 school districts (40%), employing a half million teachers still offer a starting salary below $40,000.
17.7% of school districts pay beginning teachers a salary of at least $50,000. These districts employ 948,000 teachers.
For 2021-2022, the average increase in starting teacher salaries trailed inflation by 6.6 percentage points.
Real inflation adjusted starting salaries are now $4,552 below 2008-2009 levels.
On average, the top of the teacher pay scale is $77,926; a salary level that typically requires a PhD, or 15 to 30 graduate credit hours beyond a master’s degree, and often requires 25 to 30 years of professional teaching experience.
The starting salary of teachers in states with a bargaining law is $2,107 more than in states without a bargaining law. Top pay is $13,519 higher in states with a bargaining law.

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Teacher Salary Benchmark Averages

State Starting Salary Top Bachelor's Starting Master's Top Master's Top Salary
Alabama $41,974 $55,688 $48,182 $63,893 $73,644
Alaska $50,203 $86,223 $56,058 $89,415 $90,234
Arizona $41,496 $52,544 $44,111 $61,633 $68,200
Arkansas $37,168 $49,613 $41,388 NA $55,409
California $51,600 NA NA NA $102,928
Colorado $37,124 $47,516 $40,796 $58,936 $67,101
Connecticut $48,007 $77,378 $52,048 NA $99,971
Delaware $44,037 $62,415 $50,064 $78,651 $89,506
District of Columbia $56,313 $89,294 $60,067 $110,179 $116,408
Federal $54,903 $106,351 $62,670 $114,516 $131,981
Florida $45,171 $62,841 $47,496 $65,748 $68,442
Georgia $38,926 $57,148 $44,164 $65,162 $80,641
Hawaii $50,123 $71,403 $54,132 $77,115 $91,948
Idaho $40,394 $53,272 $42,465 $58,548 $60,315
Illinois $42,213 $62,252 $46,460 $77,507 $85,923
Indiana $40,959 NA NA NA $73,379
Iowa $39,208 NA NA NA $72,906
Kansas $40,130 $45,165 $43,200 $55,691 $62,307
Kentucky $38,010 $54,162 $41,842 $59,180 $64,055
Louisiana $43,270 $56,104 $44,180 $57,102 $59,427
Maine $39,101 $64,262 $41,824 $68,202 $70,534
Maryland $49,451 $66,654 $52,155 $88,711 $96,138
Massachusetts $49,503 $78,336 $53,353 $86,735 $96,714
Michigan $38,963 NA NA $72,593 NA
Minnesota $42,293 $57,274 $47,721 $70,076 $75,644
Mississippi $37,729 $56,279 $40,080 $64,128 $71,064
Missouri $34,052 $43,368 $36,952 $53,324 $57,891
Montana $33,568 $46,002 $37,673 $62,675 $67,239
Nebraska $37,186 $45,729 $44,040 $62,938 $70,897
Nevada $42,552 $55,928 $49,058 $72,798 $81,697
New Hampshire $40,272 $60,548 $43,960 $67,956 $71,674
New Jersey $55,143 $86,524 $59,043 $91,247 $95,207
New Mexico $42,981 $57,957 $43,105 $67,367 $70,726
New York $47,981 $78,713 $52,678 $90,232 $96,322
North Carolina $37,676 $55,973 $41,448 $61,572 $64,260
North Dakota $41,587 $62,166 $45,291 NA $66,353
Ohio $39,094 $68,098 $43,317 $79,502 $84,434
Oklahoma $38,154 $52,997 $39,592 $55,072 $57,435
Oregon $40,374 $57,106 $44,933 $70,699 $76,624
Pennsylvania $47,827 $74,435 $51,789 $81,675 $87,224
Rhode Island $45,337 $85,560 $49,822 $88,772 $91,173
South Carolina $38,929 $57,268 $44,223 $64,677 $68,511
South Dakota $41,170 $54,421 $45,221 $56,386 NA
Tennessee $40,280 $53,700 $43,857 $58,727 $66,808
Texas $45,493 $63,528 $48,443 $65,777 $64,739
Utah $46,880 $68,960 $50,890 $80,062 $84,511
Vermont $41,587 $59,019 $46,522 $71,867 $78,247
Virginia $43,845 $68,883 $46,666 $72,885 $75,027
Washington $52,142 NA NA NA NA
West Virginia $38,052 $59,156 $40,880 $62,022 $65,868
Wisconsin $39,955 NA NA NA $74,509
Wyoming $47,321 $56,547 $51,890 $68,105 $75,348
United States $42,845 $62,116 $46,117 $71,095 $77,931
For some states, the data sources do not make available salary amounts for each of the five reported benchmark data points. In a few states, payment for advanced degrees is not part of the salary structure. In Texas, higher paying districts are more likely to offer advanced degree supplements than are lower paying districts, resulting in average Top Master’s being greater than average Top Salary.

Starting Teacher Pay Data

State Starting Salary Rank $40K Districts District Percent* $40K Teachers Teacher Percent* Starting Salary 2020-2021 Salary Change
Alabama $41,974 24 138 100% 42,247 100% $41,128 2.10%
Alaska $50,203 5 45 100% 7,387 100% $50,082 0.20%
Arizona $41,496 27 92 64% 41,529 87% $40,757 1.80%
Arkansas $37,168 48 36 16% 15,848 43% $35,804 3.80%
California $51,600 4 798 97% 232,389 99% $49,933 3.30%
Colorado $37,124 49 44 25% 39,634 75% $35,670 4.10%
Connecticut $48,007 9 167 100% 38,506 100% $47,477 1.10%
Delaware $44,037 17 18 100% 8,607 100% $43,531 1.20%
District of Columbia $56,313 1 1 100% 4,335 100% $56,313 0.00%
Federal $54,903 16 100% $54,311 1.10%
Florida $45,171 16 63 97% 158,444 100% $44,040 2.60%
Georgia $38,926 41 51 26% 87,770 76% $38,692 0.60%
Hawaii $50,123 6 1 100% 12,145 100% $50,123 0.00%
Idaho $40,394 30 113 100% 16,252 100% $39,600 2.00%
Illinois $42,213 23 497 59% 106,960 83% $41,228 2.40%
Indiana $40,959 29 236 77% 55,261 88% $38,116 7.50%
Iowa $39,208 36 127 39% 14,917 42% $38,515 1.80%
Kansas $40,130 34 163 59% 31,551 84% $39,100 2.60%
Kentucky $38,010 44 32 19% 18,428 44% $37,373 1.70%
Louisiana $43,270 19 46 81% 30,673 95% $42,185 2.60%
Maine $39,101 37 58 34% 6,369 46% $37,548 4.10%
Maryland $49,451 8 24 100% 62,236 100% $48,510 1.90%
Massachusetts $49,503 7 263 99% 62,258 100% $48,426 2.20%
Michigan $38,963 39 195 38% 40,161 56% $37,931 2.70%
Minnesota $42,293 22 248 88% 43,984 95% $41,255 2.50%
Mississippi $37,729 45 13 9% 6,801 22% $36,659 2.90%
Missouri $34,052 50 43 8% 24,111 37% $33,234 2.50%
Montana $33,568 51 15 7% 2,502 28% $32,521 3.20%
Nebraska $37,186 47 14 6% 8,538 36% $36,543 1.80%
Nevada $42,552 21 12 71% 17,159 80% $41,591 2.30%
New Hampshire $40,272 33 77 48% 7,685 55% $39,737 1.30%
New Jersey $55,143 2 584 100% 113,325 100% $54,057 2.00%
New Mexico $42,981 20 45 100% 18,834 100% $41,828 2.80%
New York $47,981 10 455 88% 153,500 93% $47,412 1.20%
North Carolina $37,676 46 9 8% 32,338 35% $37,127 1.50%
North Dakota $41,587 26 115 67% 7,231 77% $40,908 1.70%
Ohio $39,094 38 241 39% 56,864 63% $38,225 2.30%
Oklahoma $38,154 42 59 12% 21,849 54% $38,074 0.20%
Oregon $40,374 31 87 52% 24,723 82% $39,338 2.60%
Pennsylvania $47,827 11 501 92% 108,497 96% $46,822 2.10%
Rhode Island $45,337 15 30 100% 8,779 100% $44,529 1.80%
South Carolina $38,929 40 26 34% 28,445 56% $37,780 3.00%
South Dakota $41,170 28 94 73% 8,420 91% $40,128 2.60%
Tennessee $40,280 32 73 51% 48,166 75% $39,030 3.20%
Texas $45,493 14 491 75% 320,885 96% $44,549 2.10%
Utah $46,880 13 41 100% 26,158 100% $44,349 5.70%
Vermont $41,587 25 94 84% 5,827 88% $40,832 1.80%
Virginia $43,845 18 114 87% 83,018 96% $42,270 3.70%
Washington $52,142 3 237 100% 60,730 100% $50,897 2.40%
West Virginia $38,052 43 5 9% 2,493 13% $37,987 0.20%
Wisconsin $39,955 35 254 61% 34,062 57% $38,961 2.60%
Wyoming $47,321 12 47 98% 7,348 99% $46,826 1.10%
United States $42,845 7248 60% 2,416,177 82% $41,814 2.50%
*District Percent refers to the portion of reporting school districts that offer a starting teacher salary of at least $40,000. Teacher Percent refers to the portion of all teachers who are employed in school districts that offer a starting teacher salary of at least $40,000.
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Starting Teacher Pay 2023

NEA's Teacher Salary Benchmark Report provides information from 12,000 local school districts on starting teacher salaries and salaries at other points of the teaching career continuum.
Download the Report (pdf)
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The National Education Association (NEA), the nation's largest professional employee organization, is committed to advancing the cause of public education. NEA's 3 million members work at every level of education—from pre-school to university graduate programs. NEA has affiliate organizations in every state and in more than 14,000 communities across the United States.