State Rankings
Average Teacher Salary by State (2026): 51-State Comparison
According to NCES F-33 data (FY2022), this compares average teacher salary by state, using instructional-salary expenditure per reported teacher FTE.
- $127,962
- #1 top salary (District of Columbia)
- $82,166
- Mean across states
- $77,910
- Median across states
- 51
- States ranked
The average teacher salary across the 51 state and D.C. estimates is $82,166 in this FY2022 NCES F-33 comparison; the median is $77,910. District of Columbia has the highest estimate at $127,962, while the table shows every jurisdiction on the same basis.
- #1 of 51: District of Columbia
- $72,259 spread, top vs bottom
What This Ranking Tells Us
This comparison shows each state’s estimated average instructional-staff salary on one consistent FY2022 basis: instructional-salary expenditure divided by reported teacher FTE. The state mean is useful as a benchmark across jurisdictions, while the individual rows are better for comparing the state you are considering with the rest of the dataset.
By the Numbers: Average Teacher Salary by State (2026): 51-State Comparison
This ranking covers 51 jurisdictions (all 50 states plus the District of Columbia) using estimated average teacher salary from the NCES Common Core of Data F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, FY2022. District of Columbia leads the list at $127,962, while Arkansas sits at the bottom with $55,703 - a $72,259 spread between the highest and lowest reporting state. The mean across states is $82,166 with a median of $77,910 (an unweighted average of each state's own average - not the same as the site-wide district-level enrollment-weighted average shown elsewhere), a gap that reveals how concentrated the top of the distribution is.
Teacher-pay rankings are shaped by state funding formulas, collective bargaining density, cost-of-living adjustments, and statutory minimum salary schedules. States with strong unions and high property-tax bases tend to cluster at the top; Right-to-Work states with lean state education budgets tend to cluster at the bottom. Licensing reciprocity between neighboring states also drives compensation pressure - educators cross borders for pay differentials.
The F-33 survey covers all public Local Education Agencies (LEAs) reporting to NCES, capturing total instructional salary expenditure (variable Z33), enrollment, per-pupil spending, and revenue by source. Estimated teacher salary figures are derived by dividing Z33 by teacher FTE - these are district-level aggregates, not individual contracts. Private schools, charter networks with separate reporting, and federal BIE schools sit outside this dataset. Year-over-year comparisons require caution: district consolidations, reporting methodology changes, and late filings can shift rankings by several positions without reflecting underlying policy change. Click any state below to see per-district salary breakdowns and state-level licensing context.
Top 10 States - Est. Avg. Salary
Average teacher salary for every state and D.C., estimated from NCES F-33 finance data, FY2022
- District of Columbia
District of Columbia
$127,962 Est. avg salary
- New York
New York
$125,882 Est. avg salary
- California
California
$123,951 Est. avg salary
- Washington
Washington
$117,433 Est. avg salary
- Connecticut
Connecticut
$106,216 Est. avg salary
- Massachusetts
Massachusetts
$105,323 Est. avg salary
- Alaska
Alaska
$104,540 Est. avg salary
- Minnesota
Minnesota
$103,100 Est. avg salary
- Maryland
Maryland
$101,110 Est. avg salary
- Ohio
Ohio
$96,303 Est. avg salary
What this shows This view ranks all states and D.C. by the same FY2022 instructional-salary and teacher-FTE methodology; it does not adjust for cost of living or benefits.
Nominal salary versus purchasing power
Each point is one state or D.C. The horizontal value is the FY2022 NCES-derived salary estimate used in this ranking; the vertical value adjusts that same estimate with BEA's FY2022 all-items Regional Price Parity. Points above the horizontal midpoint retain more purchasing power than their nominal position alone suggests. This is not a tax, benefits, housing-budget, or individual-offer comparison.
State teacher-salary estimates before and after the same-year BEA price-level adjustment
Source: NCES CCD F-33 instructional-salary expenditure and teacher FTE, FY2022; BEA Regional Price Parities, all-items, 2022. Read the method and download the state comparison.
Reuse this state comparison
Download the same FY2022 state summary in CSV or JSON, or embed the top-ten panel. The embed preserves a visible PlainTeacher and NCES attribution; the release covers this derived state summary only.
The top 3
| # | State | Est. Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia DC | $127,962 |
| 2 | New York NY | $125,882 |
| 3 | California CA | $123,951 |
| 4 | Washington WA | $117,433 |
| 5 | Connecticut CT | $106,216 |
| 6 | Massachusetts MA | $105,323 |
| 7 | Alaska AK | $104,540 |
| 8 | Minnesota MN | $103,100 |
| 9 | Maryland MD | $101,110 |
| 10 | Ohio OH | $96,303 |
| 11 | Rhode Island RI | $96,093 |
| 12 | New Jersey NJ | $90,256 |
| 13 | Hawaii HI | $89,313 |
| 14 | Vermont VT | $88,832 |
| 15 | Oregon OR | $88,731 |
| 16 | Delaware DE | $87,434 |
| 17 | Illinois IL | $86,298 |
| 18 | New Hampshire NH | $85,585 |
| 19 | Wyoming WY | $84,775 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania PA | $84,555 |
| 21 | Virginia VA | $84,524 |
| 22 | Utah UT | $83,296 |
| 23 | Colorado CO | $80,177 |
| 24 | Louisiana LA | $80,129 |
| 25 | Alabama AL | $78,398 |
| 26 | Iowa IA | $77,910 |
| 27 | Nebraska NE | $77,862 |
| 28 | North Dakota ND | $77,606 |
| 29 | Maine ME | $76,891 |
| 30 | North Carolina NC | $76,187 |
| 31 | Georgia GA | $75,303 |
| 32 | Texas TX | $74,920 |
| 33 | Michigan MI | $74,751 |
| 34 | Montana MT | $73,667 |
| 35 | New Mexico NM | $72,485 |
| 36 | Wisconsin WI | $71,287 |
| 37 | Kentucky KY | $70,418 |
| 38 | Tennessee TN | $68,524 |
| 39 | Arizona AZ | $68,265 |
| 40 | Idaho ID | $67,352 |
| 41 | Kansas KS | $66,655 |
| 42 | Indiana IN | $65,729 |
| 43 | South Carolina SC | $64,959 |
| 44 | Nevada NV | $64,175 |
| 45 | Florida FL | $64,083 |
| 46 | South Dakota SD | $63,995 |
| 47 | West Virginia WV | $62,740 |
| 48 | Missouri MO | $62,482 |
| 49 | Oklahoma OK | $58,364 |
| 50 | Mississippi MS | $57,919 |
| 51 | Arkansas AR | $55,703 |
Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD) F-33 Survey.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average teacher salary by state?
This page lists a consistent FY2022 estimate for every state and D.C. It divides NCES instructional-salary expenditure by reported teacher FTE for each jurisdiction, then shows the unweighted mean and median across the state estimates.
Why is the state mean different from the national figure elsewhere on PlainTeacher?
The mean on this page gives each state one equal weight. A national figure based on districts or enrollment can give larger jurisdictions more influence. Both can be useful, but they answer different comparison questions and are labeled separately.
Can I use this as a salary offer estimate?
No. It is a state-level comparison based on reported aggregate expenditure and teacher FTE. Individual offers depend on district salary schedules, experience, credentials, subject area, benefits, and local costs.
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Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
According to the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey, PlainTeacher's figures are computed directly, no number is typed in by an editor. This ranking is computed directly from each district's FY2022 F-33 submission, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Data current as of FY2022.
| Publisher | PlainTeacher |
| Sources | Public official public datasets |