FL Teacher Pay Is Lowest In The U.S. In 2024: Report

FLORIDA — Teachers in the Sunshine State have the lowest salary in the U.S., according to the National Education Association’s 2024 report on “Educator Pay in America.”

The national average teacher salary is $69,544, according to the report.

Florida’s teachers on average earn a salary of $53,098, ranking No. 50 in the nation for educator pay.

This is less than the state’s minimum living wage of $58,970, which is the “income needed for a family of one adult and one child to have a modest but adequate standard of living in the most affordable metro area,” the report said.

“Florida lawmakers can and must do better,” Andrew Spar, president of the Florida Education Association, a statewide union of teachers, education staff, professionals, graduate assistants, and college and university faculty, posted to X, formerly Twitter. “Fund public schools as the Florida Constitution demands.”

California teachers earn the most in the country, taking home, on average, $95,160 each year.

The average teacher starting salary in Florida is $47,178 ranking at No. 16 in the U.S. The national average starting teacher salary is $44,530.

The teacher pay gap in Florida compared to other college-educated professionals with similar experience is 80 cents, according to the report.

Across the board, despite record-level increases in some states, teacher pay hasn’t kept up with inflation, the NEA said. Teachers are making 5 percent less than they did 10 years ago.

“Low pay limits the ability to attract and retain quality educators in the profession amid a looming educator shortage and sagging educator morale due chiefly to low pay and poor working conditions,” the association said.