Monica Klein teaches a kindergarten class at Lakewood Elementary in Mandan on Jan. 30, 2024. (Photo Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota ranked 41st in the country for teacher salaries over the 2024-2025 school year, according to a new report — one rank lower than the year prior.
The National Education Foundation found that North Dakota K-12 educators made an average of $60,704 last school year. That’s 3.6% higher than 2023-2024 school year salaries, which were $58,581 on average.
Not long ago, North Dakota used to rank between No. 20 and No. 30 on the list, said Nick Archuleta, president of ND United, a union representing teachers and public employees.
“I think what has happened over the course of a few years is that we had other states make very good investments in their teacher salaries with the hopes, of course, of retaining and recruiting teachers,” he said. “And we didn’t do as well in that regard.”
Gov. Kelly Armstrong last month proposed keeping the K-12 funding formula the same in the 2027-2029 state budget as it is in the current budget.
“Holding K-12 funding steady for the next biennium is going to be problematic for a lot of school districts and for a lot of professional educators who really want to stay in the profession, but may not be able to afford to,” Archuleta said.
The Legislature may choose not to follow Armstrong’s recommendations, he noted.
K-12 schools receive most of their funding from the state. Local property taxes also contribute to a large share of schools’ funding.
Last year, state lawmakers approved a 2025-2026 budget that increased state funding for K-12 education by 2.5% annually.
“The 2.5% increase wasn’t even keeping with inflation,” Archuleta said.
North Dakota’s average was higher than two of its neighbors. South Dakota paid its teachers an average of $58,486, and Montana’s statewide average was $59,305. In Minnesota, teachers made an average of $76,234, however.
In addition to South Dakota and Montana, North Dakota’s average was also higher than Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, West Virginia, Missouri, Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi.
The average teacher salary across the United States was $74,495 for the 2024-2025 school year, according to the National Education Foundation’s report.
That represents an average increase of about 3.5% nationwide, according to the report.
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