NEA Releases Teacher & Support Staff Pay Data
How does Your pay Compare?
NEA’s recently released annual report on educator pay data found that the average national teacher salary increased 5% from 22-23 to 23-24 but increased 6.2% in Maryland—the 10th best annual improvement overall. Adding to that positive news is that our state’s average teacher salary is 7th highest, leapfrogging New Jersey, a long-time leader. Average pay for education support professionals (ESP) is also among the highest in the nation, clocking in at the 11th best.
“States with strong unions attract and sustain their educators far better than other states. Maryland remains a great place for a person to work in public education,” says MSEA President Paul Lemle. NEA’s Rankings and Estimates report has been published annually for 60 years and is widely cited as an authoritative source on average teacher salaries and per-student expenditures. The Teacher Salary Benchmark report provides information from over 12,000 school districts on starting teacher salaries and salaries at other points of the teaching career continuum. The Education Support Professional Earnings Report offers a pay breakdown for school support staff.
As Marylander Frederick Douglass wrote, “Power concedes nothing without a demand”—and Maryland educators have been demanding, and winning, improved pay from those with the power to deliver it. Higher salaries are a cornerstone of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, including a statewide starting teacher salary minimum of $60,000. A foundational principle of MSEA’s ESP Bill of Rights is a living wage for all ESP and developing the grassroots power to force the issue. And strong local bargaining and organizing have helped deliver salary improvements for educators across job types and years of experience.
“When we do the hard work of winning elections and holding those in office accountable for their promises on the campaign trail, we can build power and a stronger, better supported profession,” said MSEA President Paul Lemle. “It takes years of work, but when we organize for power, we see real gains on salaries and real progress towards the quality of life we know all educators deserve.”
Reality Checks and Pay Penalties
Of course, the strong salary gains in Maryland are diluted by rising prices, inflation, and the threat of fiscal instability for public schools and the economy overall. “In some states, educators are seeing long-overdue pay increases, thanks to union-led advocacy, but overall, educator pay is still not keeping up with inflation,” said NEA President Becky Pringle.
As Pringle notes, despite what looks like good news, over the past few years, real gains in pay have been outpaced by higher inflation. Coping with the high cost of living is an ongoing—and sometimes insurmountable—challenge for educators. NEA’s new report shows that salaries improved, but we must do more to make a lasting positive impact on teacher recruitment and retention.
The gap between what teachers make weekly compared to college-educated workers in other professions is known as the “teacher pay penalty.” Even as teacher salaries improve, that gap continues to widen. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the pay penalty grew to a record 26.6% in 2023 (it was only 6.1% in 1996). This gap exceeds 20% in 36 states, including Maryland.
A similar story holds true for ESP, the support staff that every school relies upon. According to data collected last year by the Maryland State Department of Education, 62% of Maryland ESP make $42,270 or less (not including IT staff), although a living wage in Maryland is $51,460 according to the MIT living wage calculator. Therefore it’s no surprise that in the same survey nearly 80% of ESPs said they need a second job to make ends meet and nearly 60% said that they were considering leaving their jobs for ones with better pay and benefits.
“We’ve made good progress—but I’d like to see us reduce inequality among educators by negotiating higher raises for our lowest paying jobs. We also need to ensure that every educator has adequate time to do the job at school instead of carrying hours of additional work home,” added Lemle. Federal threats to education funding and the economy as a whole are also a looming threat to continued progress on salaries.
“As Donald Trump continues his attempts to take a chainsaw to public education so that billionaires can get another tax cut, our students will pay the price,” added Pringle.
“[Educator] pay increases have also been instrumental in addressing and mitigating the educator shortages plaguing our public schools. America’s 50 million public school students deserve strong and well-funded public schools—not the chaos and destruction Trump and Musk are unleashing on their education.”