According to new reports released by the Kentucky Education Association, pay for public school teachers in the state fell in the national rankings again this year.
The National Education Association, the nation’s teachers union, conducts annual reports on teacher pay across the country. Kentucky now ranks 42nd in the country for average public school teacher pay, at $58,325 per year, despite a 3.6% increase from the previous year. Last year, the NEA ranked Kentucky 41st in average teacher pay.
The national average teacher salary is $72,030, according to 2025 data.
In a press release, KEA President Eddie Campbell stated that the organization “is deeply concerned about the General Assembly’s lack of investment in Kentucky educators’ pay.”
“Every school district across the commonwealth faces shortages of teachers, substitutes, bus drivers, custodians and office staff nearly every day of the school year,” according to Campbell. “Investing properly in our teachers’ pay could help to alleviate this critical shortage and make Kentucky a competitive destination for educators from neighboring states. Until then, Kentucky will continue to struggle to staff its public schools.
According to NEA data, Kentucky ranks 48th in the nation for average beginning teacher pay. According to the report, the average starting teacher salary is $40,161, up 2.4% from last year’s average. In 2024, Kentucky ranked 45th for average beginning teacher pay.
Furthermore, Kentucky classified workers — such as bus drivers, janitors, administrative staff, and cafeteria employees — were found to earn an average annual salary of $28,088, ranking 49th in the country despite a 3.7% increase over the previous year.
Salaries for public school employees in Kentucky have long been a political hot topic. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear has repeatedly urged the Republican-controlled General Assembly to approve pay raises for public school employees, most recently during his State of the Commonwealth address in January.
At the time, Beshear stated that Kentucky voters’ rejection of a constitutional amendment allowing the state legislature to fund nonpublic schools last fall was “a mandate to prioritize public education.”
Days later, at the annual Kentucky Chamber Day Dinner, Republican House Speaker David Osborne of Prospect announced that the state legislature had provided a historic level of K-12 education funding.
“These are the same people that have not provided one single, substantive, creative, thoughtful, intentional policy change to improve education,” Osborne told the crowd. “Because, let’s be clear: asking for more money is not a big deal. Asking for more money is not brave. Asking for more money is simply an ask, and it isn’t working.”
During the 2023 gubernatorial election, then-Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron unveiled an education plan that proposed raising new Kentucky teachers’ base pay to $41,500 per year. Cameron, who eventually lost to Beshear, is now running for Kentucky’s open U.S. Senate seat.