Only one US state pays teachers an average of 6 figures. See how much teachers make in every state.

California pays teachers the highest average salary in the country. MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images/MediaNews Group via Getty Images Teacher pay varies widely across the 50 US states and Washington, DC. California pays teachers the most, providing them with an average salary of $103,552 in 2024-2025. Teachers in California make nearly double what teachers in Mississippi make on average. Many people consider public school teachers to have one of the most important jobs. But while teaching is the most common public-sector job, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics , many educators still struggle to make ends meet. A 2025 Gallup poll found that 21% of polled K-12 educators said they were "finding it difficult to get by on their present income," while 52% reported they were just getting by rather than living comfortably. A third of K-12 teachers also reported having non-teaching-related jobs, "such as ride-sharing, food service or running a side business ," the poll found. For many teachers, their salaries simply aren't enough, and, due to differences in affordability, housing prices , and tax structures, teacher salaries — and how far they go — vary widely across the country. In April, the National Education Association released its Rankings of the States 2025 and Estimates of School Statistics 2026 report , which included data such as the number of school districts, student enrollment and attendance, and education expenditures in every state and Washington, DC. The report also listed the average salaries of public school teachers in 2024-2025, as well as the change in pay from the previous year. For a few states — Connecticut, Montana, and Rhode Island — and Washington, DC, the NEA relied on salary estimates. Per the report, the state where teachers received the largest average year-over-year raise was Nevada. Though its average salary in 2024-2025 ranked 17th in the country, it grew by roughly $8,000, or about 11.8%, from 2023-24. By contrast, teachers in Oklahoma received a 1% average raise, about $600. See the average public school teacher salary in every state and Washington, DC. We also listed how much the average salary increased year-over-year and how the state's average salary ranked among all other states and Washington, DC, with No. 1 being the highest salary and 51 the lowest. ALABAMA School buses in Wilmer, Alabama. Carmen K. Sisson/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $62,985 Change from 2023-2024 : 1.73% increase Rank : 35 ALASKA A public school building in Nenana, Alaska. Jeremy Hammond/Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $81,450 Change from 2023-2024 : 4.1% increase Rank : 11 ARIZONA Nevitt Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona. OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $64,291 Change from 2023-2024 : 2.5% increase Rank : 31 ARKANSAS Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Adele Heidenreich/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $59,193 Change from 2023-2024 : 1.5% increase Rank : 45 CALIFORNIA Rosita Elementary School in Santa Ana, California. MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $103,552 Change from 2023-2024 : 2.4% increase Rank : 1 COLORADO East High School in Denver, Colorado. Katie Wood/Denver Post via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $72,781 Change from 2023-2024 : 6% increase Rank : 19 CONNECTICUT Pleasant Valley Elementary School in South Windsor, Connecticut. Connecticut Post/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $89,593 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.6% increase Rank : 6 DELAWARE Henry C. Conrad High School in Wilmington Delaware. Khairil Azhar Junos/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $76,570 Change from 2023-2024 : 7.6% increase Rank : 14 FLORIDA Miami Senior High School in Miami, Florida. John Parra/WireImage/The Latin Recording Academy via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $56,663 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.3% increase Rank : 50 GEORGIA Buford High School in Buford, Georgia. Chad Robertson Media/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $71,524 Change from 2023-2024 : 5.7% increase Rank : 21 HAWAII Classroom in Oahu, Hawaii. Phil Mislinski/Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $75,860 Change from 2023-2024 : 2.2% increase Rank : 16 IDAHO Lewiston High School in Lewiston, Idaho. UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $62,786 Change from 2023-2024 : 2.1% increase Rank : 36 ILLINOIS Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois. Boston Globe via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $78,495 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.3% increase Rank : 13 INDIANA Valparaiso High School in Valparaiso, Indiana. KK Stock/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $61,661 Change from 2023-2024 : 5.2% increase Rank : 38 IOWA Denison High School in Denison, Iowa. Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $65,312 Change from 2023-2024 : 4.7% increase Rank : 30 KANSAS Topeka High School in Topeka, Kansas. Mihai_Andritoiu/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $61,470 Change from 2023-2024 : 5.5% increase Rank : 39 KENTUCKY Valley High School in Louisville, Kentucky. Jon Cherry/Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $60,594 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.9% increase Rank : 42 LOUISIANA McMain High School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Chris Graythen/Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $56,785 Change from 2023-2024 : 1.6% increase Rank : 49 MAINE Crooked River Elementary School in Casco, Maine. Portland Press Herald/Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $65,621 Change from 2023-2024 : 4.9% increase Rank : 29 MARYLAND Head start classroom in Frederick, Maryland. The Washington Post via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $87,409 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.6% increase Rank : 7 MASSACHUSETTS Boston Latin Academy in Boston, Massachusetts. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $93,554 Change from 2023-2024 : 2.8% increase Rank : 5 MICHIGAN Cafeteria in Northern High School Port Huron, Michigan. Dennis MacDonald/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $71,023 Change from 2023-2024 : 2.8% increase Rank : 22 MINNESOTA Hibbing High School in Hibbing, Minnesota. The Washington Post via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $76,234 Change from 2023-2024 : 5.3% increase Rank : 15 MISSISSIPPI Heidelberg High School in Heidelberg, Mississippi. Bloomberg via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $54,975 Change from 2023-2024 : 2.4% increase Rank : 51 MISSOURI Central High School in Springfield, Missouri. Kit Leong/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $57,366 Change from 2023-2024 : 4% increase Rank : 48 MONTANA Basin Elementary School in Basin, Montana. Janie Osborne/Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $59,305 Change from 2023-2024 : 3% increase Rank : 44 NEBRASKA Omaha Central High School in Omaha, Nebraska. Photo Spirit/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $63,326 Change from 2023-2024 : 5.1% increase Rank : 34 NEVADA Foothill High School in Henderson, Nevada. Katherine Carey/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $74,812 Change from 2023-2024 : 11.8% increase Rank : 17 NEW HAMPSHIRE Bedford High School in Bedford, New Hampshire. Boston Globe via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $69,432 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.4% increase Rank : 25 NEW JERSEY Woodstown Pilesgrove High School in Woodstown, New Jersey. EQRoy/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $84,974 Change from 2023-2024 : 2.5% increase Rank : 9 NEW MEXICO Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $69,736 Change from 2023-2024 : 1.9% increase Rank : 24 NEW YORK J.H.S. 088 Peter Rouget school in Brooklyn, New York. Spencer Platt/Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $98,655 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.2% increase Rank : 2 NORTH CAROLINA Public school in Franklinton, North Carolina. Wileydoc/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $60,323 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.5% increase Rank : 43 NORTH DAKOTA Dickinson High School in Dickinson, North Dakota. LiftedFairingLLC/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $60,704 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.6% increase Rank : 41 OHIO Mount Washington Elementary School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Joey Foley/WireImage for NARAS via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $70,586 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.4% increase Rank : 23 OKLAHOMA Booker T Washington Magnet High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Vineyard Perspective/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $61,931 Change from 2023-2024 : 1% increase Rank : 37 OREGON Beaverton High School in Beaverton, Oregon. Hrach Hovhannisyan/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $81,657 Change from 2023-2024 : 5.9% increase Rank : 10 PENNSYLVANIA Building 21, a public high school in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Michelle Gustafson for The Washington Post Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $79,078 Change from 2023-2024 : 2.8% increase Rank : 12 RHODE ISLAND Central Falls High School in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Boston Globe via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $85,772 Change from 2023-2024 : 4.4% increase Rank : 8 SOUTH CAROLINA Fort Mill High School in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Steven Starr Photography/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $64,050 Change from 2023-2024 : 5.4% increase Rank : 32 SOUTH DAKOTA Newell High School in Newell, South Carolina. Victoria Ditkovsky/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $58,486 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.8% increase Rank : 46 TENNESSEE Hume Fogg High School in Nashville, Tennessee. Kirk Fisher/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $61,222 Change from 2023-2024 : 4.5% increase Rank : 40 TEXAS Klein Cain High School in Houston, Texas. Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $63,749 Change from 2023-2024 : 2.1% increase Rank : 33 UTAH Olympus High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. M Outdoors/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $72,882 Change from 2023-2024 : 5.4% increase Rank : 18 VERMONT South Burlington High School in Burlington, Vermont. Bob LoCicero/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $71,871 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.3% increase Rank : 20 VIRGINIA Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. John M. Chase/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $69,254 Change from 2023-2024 : 4.4% increase Rank : 26 WASHINGTON Students leave Thurgood Marshal Elementary school in Seattle, Washington. John Moore/Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $96,589 Change from 2023-2024 : 5.3% increase Rank : 3 WASHINGTON, DC Ulysses S. Grant School in Washington, DC. bluestork/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $95,077 Change from 2023-2024 : 9.7% increase Rank : 4 WEST VIRGINIA Frankfort High School in Short Gap, West Virginia. Dennis Ray Dennison II/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $58,099 Change from 2023-2024 : 5.1% increase Rank : 47 WISCONSIN Fond du Lac High School in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Aaron of L.A. Photography/Shutterstock Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $67,794 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.1% increase Rank : 27 WYOMING Torrington High School in Torrington, Wyoming. Al Drago/Getty Images Average public school teacher salary (2024-2025) : $65,668 Change from 2023-2024 : 3.1% increase Rank : 28 Read the original article on Business Insider