Teacher Salary by State 2026: Gross and After Taxes

Quick answer: the average US public school teacher earned $74,495 in 2024-25, and NEA estimates $76,552 for 2025-26 (NEA Rankings and Estimates, August 2026). At that 2025-26 national average, a single filer in a state with no income tax keeps about $62,684 a year, or $5,224 a month, in 2026 before pension. By state, estimated take-home runs from $46,053 in Mississippi to $78,933 in Washington.

• Highest 2024-25 averages: California ($103,552), New York ($98,655), Washington ($96,589)
• Lowest 2024-25 averages: Mississippi ($54,975), Florida ($56,663), Louisiana ($56,785)
• Largest one-year raises from 2023-24 to 2024-25: Nevada (+11.78%), District of Columbia (+9.71%), Delaware (+7.56%)
• NEA defines the average salary as gross pay “before deductions for Social Security, retirement, health insurance, and other benefits”

For your own district, salary step and deductions, use our Paycheck Calculator.

How We Calculated Take-Home Pay

Each net figure starts from NEA’s 2025-26 estimated average salary for the state (table E-6) and runs it through our 2026 paycheck engine with these assumptions:

• Single filer, 2026 federal brackets and the $16,100 standard deduction (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32)
• Social Security withheld at 6.2% and Medicare at 1.45% on the full salary
• State income tax for the state, plus California SDI; no local income tax
• Not included: other mandatory state payroll premiums, such as paid family and medical leave or disability insurance in Washington, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, Colorado and Rhode Island, and Washington’s WA Cares premium. Minnesota (Minn. Stat. § 268B.14, from January 1, 2026), Maine (26 M.R.S. § 850-F) and Delaware (19 Del. C. ch. 37) now also charge paid leave premiums, of which employers may withhold up to half from pay
• Before pension contributions, 403(b) deferrals and health premiums

Social Security is a simplification. Some states cover teachers through their pension system instead, which removes the 6.2% withholding but adds a pension contribution. The state articles linked below check that coverage and the pension rate against each retirement system.

Teacher Salary and Take-Home Pay by State

Average salary and rank for 2024-25 come from NEA table B-6; the 2025-26 estimate comes from table E-6. “Net rank” orders the 50 states and DC by estimated 2026 take-home.

State	Avg salary 2024-25	NEA rank	Est. 2025-26	Net 2026 (est.)	Net rank
Alabama	$62,985	35	$64,466	$51,273	38
Alaska	$81,450	11	$82,629	$66,960	9
Arizona	$64,291	31	$66,748	$54,512 †	30
Arkansas	$59,193	45	$60,120	$48,687	45
California	$103,552	1	$105,726	$76,246 †	2
Colorado	$72,781	19	$74,790	$58,862	19
Connecticut*	$89,593	6	$91,081	$68,471 †	7
Delaware	$76,570	14	$78,614	$60,287	15
District of Columbia*	$95,077	4	$96,971	$71,775	5
Florida	$56,663	50	$58,069	$48,838	44
Georgia	$71,524	21	$72,758	$57,133	24
Hawaii	$75,860	16	$77,812	$59,461	17
Idaho	$62,786	36	$66,085	$52,867 †	34
Illinois	$78,495	13	$80,077	$61,345	14
Indiana	$61,661	38	$63,116	$51,061	39
Iowa	$65,312	30	$67,041	$54,058	32
Kansas	$61,470	39	$63,411	$50,392	41
Kentucky	$60,594	42	$62,457	$50,296	42
Louisiana	$56,785	49	$57,660	$47,165	50
Maine	$65,621	29	$68,820	$54,277	31
Maryland	$87,409	7	$90,741	$68,722 †	6
Massachusetts	$93,554	5	$96,165	$71,894	4
Michigan	$71,023	22	$73,088	$57,392	23
Minnesota	$76,234	15	$78,007	$59,927	16
Mississippi	$54,975	51	$56,504	$46,053	51
Missouri	$57,366	48	$59,534	$48,190	48
Montana*	$59,305	44	$60,392	$48,623	46
Nebraska	$63,326	34	$64,854	$52,219	37
Nevada	$74,812	17	$75,074	$61,645	13
New Hampshire	$69,432	25	$71,857	$59,381	18
New Jersey	$84,974	9	$86,096	$66,104 †	10
New Mexico	$69,736	24	$71,057	$56,645	26
New York	$98,655	2	$100,367	$74,557	3
North Carolina	$60,323	43	$59,971	$48,483	47
North Dakota	$60,704	41	$62,325	$52,258	36
Ohio	$70,586	23	$71,868	$57,856	22
Oklahoma	$61,931	37	$62,055	$49,794	43
Oregon	$81,657	10	$83,727	$62,008	12
Pennsylvania	$79,078	12	$81,142	$63,422	11
Rhode Island*	$85,772	8	$88,120	$68,135	8
South Carolina	$64,050	32	$67,107	$53,905	33
South Dakota	$58,486	46	$60,451	$50,752	40
Tennessee	$61,222	40	$62,941	$52,753	35
Texas	$63,749	33	$68,001	$56,669	25
Utah	$72,882	18	$75,306	$58,680	20
Vermont	$71,871	20	$73,694	$58,270 †	21
Virginia	$69,254	26	$72,014	$56,165	28
Washington	$96,589	3	$99,649	$78,933	1
West Virginia	$58,099	47	$58,281	$47,215	49
Wisconsin	$67,794	27	$68,943	$54,747	29
Wyoming	$65,668	28	$67,914	$56,608	27

* 2024-25 salary is an NEA estimate (Connecticut, District of Columbia, Montana, Rhode Island). † Uses the latest published state figures (2025), as these states have not yet published 2026: Arizona (standard deduction), California, Connecticut, Idaho, Maryland, New Jersey and Vermont. Checked October 13, 2026.

Where Teachers Keep the Most

Sorted by estimated 2026 take-home, the top five are:

Net rank	State	Est. 2025-26 salary	Net 2026	Share kept
1	Washington	$99,649	$78,933	79.2%
2	California	$105,726	$76,246	72.1%
3	New York	$100,367	$74,557	74.3%
4	Massachusetts	$96,165	$71,894	74.8%
5	District of Columbia	$96,971	$71,775	74.0%

Washington takes first place while ranking third on gross pay. With no state income tax on wages, its teachers keep about $2,687 more than California teachers, even though California’s estimated average is $6,077 higher.

Where Teachers Keep the Least

Net rank	State	Est. 2025-26 salary	Net 2026	Share kept
47	North Carolina	$59,971	$48,483	80.8%
48	Missouri	$59,534	$48,190	80.9%
49	West Virginia	$58,281	$47,215	81.0%
50	Louisiana	$57,660	$47,165	81.8%
51	Mississippi	$56,504	$46,053	81.5%

The gap between the highest and lowest estimated gross salary (California vs. Mississippi) is $49,222. The gap in take-home between Washington and Mississippi is $32,880, because larger salaries fall into higher federal brackets and, in most high-pay states, pay more state tax.

North Carolina is the only state where NEA expects the average to fall in 2025-26, from $60,323 to $59,971 (-0.58%).

Gross Pay vs. Net Pay: Where the Ranking Shifts

State income tax moves several states up or down once you compare take-home instead of gross pay. Comparing the rank of each state’s 2025-26 estimated salary with its net rank:

State	Gross rank (2025-26 est.)	Net rank	State income tax at the average
New Hampshire	25	18	$0
Nevada	18	13	$0
Florida	49	44	$0
Texas	29	25	$0
Tennessee	39	35	$0
Virginia	23	28	$3,327
Kansas	37	41	$2,739

Two examples show the effect in dollars:

• Washington vs. California. California teachers pay about $5,588 in state income tax and $1,374 in SDI at the average salary. Washington teachers pay no state income tax, which more than offsets a $6,077 lower salary. They do pay Washington’s Paid Family and Medical Leave premium and the WA Cares long-term care premium, which these figures leave out.
• Alaska vs. Oregon. Oregon’s estimated average ($83,727) is $1,098 above Alaska’s ($82,629). Oregon’s income tax takes about $5,724, so the Alaska teacher keeps $4,952 more.

The share of salary kept ranges from 72.1% in California to 84.1% in Florida. A lower share does not mean lower pay: California still ranks second on take-home.

Before You Compare States

• Pension contributions are not in the table. Teacher pension rates vary widely by state and come out of every paycheck. Our state articles apply them: California (CalSTRS), Texas (TRS), New York and Florida.
• Social Security is assumed. If your position is not covered by Social Security, add back 6.2% of salary, then subtract your pension contribution. The state articles cite each retirement system on this point.
• Averages hide the spread. NEA reports one average per state. A first-year teacher earns less, and a veteran with a master’s degree earns more. Use your district’s salary schedule for your own number.
• Local taxes are excluded. Where a city, county or school district levies its own income tax, as New York City does, take-home is lower than the table shows.

Run Your Own Numbers

Enter your salary, pay frequency, 403(b) and pension deductions in the Paycheck Calculator to see your 2026 take-home for any state. For a full walk-through of one state, start with:

• Teacher salary in California after taxes
• Teacher salary in Texas after taxes
• Teacher salary in New York after taxes
• Teacher salary in Florida after taxes

Source for all salary figures: National Education Association, Rankings and Estimates: Rankings of the States 2025 and Estimates of School Statistics 2026, August 2026 update, tables B-6 and E-6. Take-home figures are MyCashCalc estimates.