Florida has landed at the bottom of national teacher pay rankings for the third year in a row, according to newly released data from the National Education Association.
The average teacher salary in Florida rose to $56,663 in the 2025–26 school year, a 3.3% increase from the prior year. However, adjusted for inflation, average teacher pay in the state has actually fallen 12.4% over the past decade, and Florida’s ranking has slipped from 47th to 50th in the nation.
The figure is roughly $18,000 below the national average. California leads the country with an average teacher salary of $103,552, followed by New York and Washington state.
Florida’s average starting salary of $49,435 ranks 19th nationally — a disconnect that highlights how entry-level pay has improved while overall compensation continues to lag.
Education support professionals fare even worse, with average pay of $34,645 — well below Florida’s estimated living wage of $63,853 for a household with one adult and one child.
Florida Education Association President Andrew Spar pointed to the real-world impact on students. He described a pattern where children go extended stretches of the school year without teachers in core subjects, calling such disruptions the norm for far too many students.
The NEA report also found that Florida experienced one of the largest drops in public school enrollment between 2024 and 2025, more than doubling the national decrease in enrollment rate.
Governor Ron DeSantis has requested $1.56 billion in his budget for teacher pay raises — nearly 15% more than the prior year — though the Legislature has not yet approved a budget for the coming fiscal year.
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