Teacher Pay in North Carolina

Teachers are the most significant in-school factor for student success and the most important thing we can do to improve our education system is to recruit, prepare, support, and retain great talent for our schools.

BEST NC’s groundbreaking report has been updated! The 2025 Edition of Teacher Pay in North Carolina: A Smart Investment in Student Achievement examines how existing teacher pay structures fail to address decades-long shifts in our national workforce and are inadequate for meeting the personal and professional needs of teachers. This updated report provides an expanded set of strategic recommendations to significantly increase and improve the pay structure for teachers, additional data, and updated assets.

Interactive Heat Maps:

• PERCENT BEGINNING TEACHERS IN NORTH CAROLINA K-12 TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS, BY DISTRICT (2022-23) – page 9

• PERCENTAGE OF NORTH CAROLINA TEACHERS NOT FULLY LICENSED, BY DISTRICT (2022-23)– page 10

• K-12 TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER DEPARTURE RATES, BY DISTRICT (2022-23) – page 10

• Starting Teacher Pay in Surrounding Region, Adjusted for Cost-of-Living (2022-23) – page 13

• AVERAGE LOCAL SALARY SUPPLEMENT for K-12 TEACHERS IN TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL, by District (2023-24) – page 16

• AVERAGE ADVANTAGE OR PENALTY PER STATE-FUNDED TEACHER IN K-12 TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOLS (2021-22) – page 23

• TEACHER SALARY VS. MEDIAN BACHELOR’S DEGREE HOLDER SALARY IN COUNTY, BY DISTRICT (2022) – page 42

From BEST NC's Blog: