LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas teacher salaries went up 3.2 percent last year, to an average of $54,309.
That ranked Arkansas 45th in the country. However, when the cost of living is factored in, salaries in Arkansas ranked 33rd in the country. It costs more to live in California, New York and other states with higher teacher salaries.
Nationwide, the average teacher salary was $69,544 in 2023. That was a 4.1 percent increase over 2022.
Compared to the other 15 southern states that belong to the Southern Regional Education Board, teacher salaries in Arkansas ranked 12th last year. After adjusting for the cost of living, Arkansas ranked 11th.
Legislative staff presented statistics on teacher salaries to the Senate and House Education Committees during a recent meeting in which lawmakers worked on an adequacy study for next school year.
Adequacy is the term used by Arkansas educators and policy makers to determine funding amounts for public schools, in order to meet the constitutional mandate to provide an education to all children in the state.
Teacher salaries are one of numerous factors studied by legislators before they set school funding levels. Other factors include the number of special education students in a district, the population density within a school district and the cost of operating school buses, how many students live in poverty and whether facilities and equipment need to be upgraded.
The Education Committees explored methods of lessening the pay disparities within Arkansas. The highest average salary in Arkansas was $68,421 in Fayetteville and the lowest average salary of $43,895 was in the Bradford School District in White County.