Labor union reports teacher pay lags in Mississippi as lawmakers weigh obligations

• House Education Chairman says while teachers and their pay are always a concern, keeping all state employee pay at fair and reasonable levels must be considered.

A new report from the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the U.S. representing teachers, shows Mississippi has dropped from 48th in the nation in average teacher pay to 51st.

The 2025 report, which quantifies teacher salary, education support professional pay, and student spending in every state and D.C., lists Mississippi as 51st in average teacher salary at $53,704 and 40th in average teacher starting salary at $42,492.

This salary is for a minimum of 187 days of work annually in a state that has a low student/teacher ratio of 13.0, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That places Mississippi 15th for student/teacher ratio in U.S., meaning the state has more teaching jobs available than most other states.

In addition, as noted by Mississippi First, local school districts often provide teachers with a salary supplement – additional pay – above what is required by state law.

“The vast majority of districts do provide teachers with such a supplement, though there is wide variation in the amount between districts. Often, the size of the local supplement depends on the district’s resources,” Grace Breazeale wrote for Mississippi First. “During the 2022-2023 school year, annual supplements ranged from $300 to $6,550 for first-year teachers with a Class A license, though approximately half of these supplements were $1,000 or less.”

There are also other salary supplements for National Board Certification, which could increase the pay over $6,000.

NEA noted that the national average public school teacher salary in 2023-24 increased 3.8 percent from the previous year to $72,030 and is projected to grow a further 3.0 percent in 2024-25. California is listed as the state with the highest average teacher salary at $101,084.

House Education Chairman State Rep. Rob Roberson (R) told Magnolia Tribune on Tuesday that while teachers and their pay are always a concern, keeping all state employee pay at fair and reasonable levels must be considered.

“The NEA report shows salaries for teachers to be lower than the [national] average,” Roberson said. “I would also consider the fact that few salaries in Mississippi are equivalent to the national average.”

A review of the September 2024 report from Forbes would indicate Roberson is correct.

While NEA lists Mississippi’s “minimum living wage” at $62,865 per the Economic Policy Institute, the Forbes report shows the average overall salary in Mississippi to be $45,180, using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Magnolia State had the lowest average salary across the U.S.

Forbes went on to report that the average annual salary in the U.S. was $59,428.

Forbes also noted that while the state offers the lowest average salary, “it’s worth noting that cost of living often aligns with local income levels, which may counter the drawbacks of a lower salary.”

U.S. News and World Report lists Mississippi as the second lowest cost of living state in the U.S., behind Arkansas. It also reports Mississippi as the top state in the nation for housing affordability.

Roberson said understanding the full economic landscape does not mean lawmakers should give up on future efforts to consider teacher pay increases, but “we are significantly higher than we were a decade ago.”

The Mississippi Legislature passed, and Governor Tate Reeves (R) signed into law the largest teacher pay raise in state history in 2022. It was a $246 million additional investment in teacher pay that marked an 11 percent pay bump for the average teacher, bringing their salaries from $47,902 in the 2021-2022 school year to just over $53,000 the following year. The law also included built-in increases in pay between $400-600 annually, along with larger pay increases, between $1,200-$1,350 every five years. The variances were dependent on the level of educational attainment.

Lawmakers have not readdressed teacher pay since 2022, although groups such as the Mississippi Association of Educators, an affiliate of NEA, have pushed for another round of increases.

Rep. Roberson said Tuesday that this year’s state budget, which has yet to be adopted as House and Senate leadership haggle over final details, “will not include an increase in teacher pay.”

Yet, Roberson said lawmakers will continue to monitor developments in teacher pay as well as salaries across all sectors.

“We must continue to strive to improve all sectors across our state,” Roberson added.