During the academic year of 2021-22, public school teachers in the United States made an average of 66,397 U.S. dollars per year. This is a significant increase from the 1979-80 school year, when the average annual wage for public school teachers was 15,970 U.S. dollars.

Stagnating wages

While the American economy is doing well, wages have been stagnating in recent years. The federal minimum wage, which currently stands at 7.25 U.S. dollars per hour, has not been raised since July 2009, meaning that minimum wage has not increased with inflation. Although minimum wage varies by state, the federal minimum wage prevails in many states. Additionally, median hourly earnings for workers, while increasing steadily, have not seen any significant jumps in recent years.

Fair pay for teachers

The majority of Americans believe that teachers are not paid fairly for the work that they do. Full-time public elementary and secondary school teachers in the U.S. have the highest salary in New York state, but the lowest salary in Mississippi.

Data on teachers' salaries in Canadian dollars are presented.

The estimated average salary of a public school teacher in the state of New York was ****** U.S. dollars in 2021/22, which was the highest among all U.S. states. The national average salary for a public school teacher in that year was ****** U.S. dollars.

As of January 2025, the average salary amounted to ***** zloty gross per month for a beginning teacher in Poland and over 10,000 zloty gross for a certified teacher.

This indicator represents the average salary of all full-time public school teachers. The year refers to the end date of the academic year. For example, 2016 data represent salaries for the 2015–16 academic year. The data include salaries for teachers with varying amounts of teaching experience and various types and levels of formal education; therefore, within-state salaries vary widely.

Salary estimates for public elementary and secondary teachers are provided by the National Education Association’s Estimates of School Statistics. The data reflect the average gross salary before deductions for Social Security, retirement, health insurance, etc.

Public school teacher salaries may reflect a range of factors, including state funding for primary and secondary education, the state's cost of living, the teachers' experience and education level, and the local supply and demand in the job market. Average statewide salaries are typically lower than the national average in most states, indicating that a small share of states with high salaries results in a higher national average. Average teacher salaries have risen across the nation in unadjusted dollars, but salary increases are significantly smaller in inflation-adjusted terms.

Data source: National Education Association Rankings and Estimates database.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: Elementary and middle school teachers occupations: 16 years and over: Men (LEU0254644300A) from 2000 to 2024 about elementary, schools, second quartile, occupation, full-time, males, salaries, workers, earnings, education, 16 years +, wages, median, employment, and USA.

Average teacher salaries by school district sourced from https://sdspending.azauditor.gov/District. Includes districts where a school is within city boundaries.

Between 2014 and 2022, both higher education and upper secondary education teachers in Sweden earned more than the national average salary. From 2021 to 2022, the country average salary increased by more than 1,000 kroner and only primary school teachers experienced the same increase. That year, upper secondary school teachers had the highest average salaries in Sweden, earning more than ****** Swedish kroner on average per month. On the other hand, preschool teachers had the lowest average salaries, earning on average ****** kroner per month.

Full and part-time teachers in state funded schools by grade of teacher, salary bands, average salary, sector, sex and age

Full and part-time teachers in state funded schools by grade of teacher, salary bands, average salary, sector, gender and age. At school level.

The mean annual gross salary for pre-primary and primary teachers in 2022 was 29,200 euros. Teachers in middle school earned 31,000 euros yearly, while salaries were about 2,000 euros higher in high school.

In 2024, Luxembourg had the highest annual starting salaries for upper level of secondary teachers in Europe, at ****** U.S. dollars, whereas the lowest average annual salaries for this category of teachers was recorded in Hungary, at ****** dollars.

This dataset includes expenditure data reported by school districts, charter schools, and virtual schools starting with fiscal year 2009. It also includes student enrollment, demographic, and performance indicators as well as teacher salary and staffing data.

In addition to showing the overall cost per pupil, this dataset provides detail about how much districts spend in major functional areas such as administration, teaching, and maintenance. For more information about the data and how to interpret it, please visit the School Finance Dashboard.

Economically Disadvantaged was used 2015-2021. Low Income was used prior to 2015, and a different version of Low Income has been used since 2022. Please see the DESE Researcher's Guide for more information.

This dataset is one of three containing the same data that is also published in the School Finance Dashboard: District Expenditures by Spending Category District Expenditures by Function Code School Expenditures by Spending Category

List of Indicators by Category

Student Enrollment

• In-District FTE Pupils
• Out-of-District FTE Pupils
• Total FTE Pupils

• Student Headcount
• Low-Income % Headcount
• English Learner % Headcount
• Students with Disabilities % Headcount

• Teacher FTE
• Teachers per 100 FTE Students
• Average Teacher Salary

• Instructional Coach FTE
• Instructional Support FTE
• Special Education Instructional Support FTE
• Paraprofessional FTE

• ELA Grades 3-8 % Meets Exceeds
• Math Grades 3-8 % Meets Exceeds
• ELA Grade 10 % Meets Exceeds
• Math Grade 10 % Meets Exceeds

• Administration
• Instructional Leadership
• Teachers
• Other Teaching Services
• Professional Development
• Instructional Materials, Equipment and Technology
• Guidance, Counseling and Testing
• Pupil Services
• Operations and Maintenance
• Insurance, Retirement Programs and Other
• Total In-District Expenditures
• Total Expenditures

In 2024, the starting salary for teachers working in Turkey totaled between ****** and ****** U.S. dollars annually, at all educational levels. The highest salary was observed for teachers at top of scale.

Number and average, median, 10th and 90th percentile salaries by rank and senior administrative responsibilities of full-time academic teaching staff by university.

This dataset provides a comprehensive overview of key economic and educational statistics in the United States, compiled from the most recent data available from 2022 to 2024. It includes information on poverty line thresholds, minimum and living wages, average and median incomes, starting and average salaries for teachers, and school enrollment rates.

This dataset is essential for exploring salary trends among the general population and educators, as well as school enrollment rates, offering a deep dive into current socioeconomic trends in the United States.

Between 2014 and 2021, primary school teachers in Denmark earned slightly more than the national average salary per month. In 2021, primary school teachers earned close to ****** Danish kroner per month. By comparison, the national average salary was just above ****** Danish kroner that year.

Luxembourg had the highest starting salary for primary teachers in Europe, at ****** U.S. dollars. Hungary had the lowest starting annual salary for primary teachers, at ****** dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Employed full time: Median usual weekly nominal earnings (second quartile): Wage and salary workers: Other teachers and instructors occupations: 16 years and over: Men (LEU0254644600A) from 2000 to 2019 about second quartile, occupation, full-time, males, salaries, workers, earnings, education, 16 years +, wages, median, employment, and USA.