RALEIGH (April 29, 2026) – What a predictable embarrassment. As the only state in the country that didn’t adopt a new budget for 2025-26, North Carolina didn’t do squat for its public-school teachers last year.
Other states did for their teachers.
So it’s no surprise that North Carolina – the state that likes to boast about its No. 1 ranking for business – sank from 43rd to 46th in average teacher pay in the latest estimates from the National Education Association.1
And it’s no surprise that at least 16 school districts have called off classes Friday as thousands of teachers march on the General Assembly to call for better pay and working conditions.2
The report estimates that North Carolina teachers will earn $59,971 in 2025-26 – $16,581 less than the national average of $76,552 and less than all its neighboring states: Virginia ($72,014), Georgia ($72,758), Tennessee ($62,941) and South Carolina ($67,107).
Source: NCAE
NC TEACHERS know their spending power has decreased because their pay hasn’t kept up with inflation.
Stephanie Wallace, an English teacher at East Forsyth High School, said at a news conference this week that she works two extra jobs – one as a waitress at Chili’s. Since 2018, she said, her salary has risen 9% while inflation has risen more than 30%.
“So I am, in fact, making less than I was making about a decade ago,” she said.
Average teacher pay in North Carolina actually declined this year due to the lack of a new budget and senior teachers leaving the profession.
“This year, North Carolina is the only state in the country where average teacher salaries are projected to decrease, said Tamika Walker Kelly, President of the NC Association of Educators.3
North Carolina is projected to spend $5,190 less per student this year ($13,680) than the national average ($18,870).
WHAT WOULD longtime, recently departed Gov. Jim Hunt – who pushed to raise teacher pay in North Carolina to the national average – say to that?
“Folks, we’ve got to work our heads off!”
Well, while Republicans and Democrats in the state House offered promising teacher raises last year, Republicans in the obstinate NC Senate certainly didn’t work their heads off.4
And the state Supreme Court recently dismissed the 32-year-old Leandro case over state support for public schools after legislative leaders contended that only the General Assembly can appropriate state funds.5
HOW LONG will the state’s business leaders – who like to crow about its rankings – stand for this?6 Do they not connect the quality of the state’s schools with the quality of their workforce?
And how long will the state’s voters – the vast majority of whom still send their children and grandchildren to public schools – put up with this?
Wake up. Pay attention. Read the numbers. Do something about it.
1 https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/32/05/e1779ac340aca83b8d5ce60a78bc/2026-rankings-and-estimates-report.pdf; https://www.wunc.org/education/2026-04-27/nc-falls-46th-teacher-pay-national-ranking.
2 https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article315558484.html.
3 https://www.wunc.org/education/2026-04-27/nc-falls-46th-teacher-pay-national-ranking.
4 https://publicedworks.org/2025/07/house-budget-is-better-for-our-teachers-and-kids/; https://publicedworks.org/2025/06/house-budget-takes-more-cautious-approach-on-taxes/.
5 https://publicedworks.org/2026/04/nc-supreme-court-shoots-down-leandro/; https://publicedworks.org/2026/04/burley-mitchell-leandro-a-renewed-opportunity/.
6 https://publicedworks.org/2026/04/tom-oxholm-when-will-business-leaders-wake-up/.
Leave a Reply