National Education Association releases four reports detailing the state of education funding and pay for educators in New Hampshire and around the country 

CONCORD, NH – Four new reports examining educator pay and school funding from pre-K through college reveal that despite growth in educator pay last year, chronic problems plague educators, including low wages and a lack of professional respect. Further, the report shows that New Hampshire remains 50th in the nation for state public education funding as a percentage of revenue receipts.   

The data released today include Rankings of the States 2024 and Estimates of School Statistics 2025 a report NEA has produced since the 1960s and widely cited as an authoritative source on average teacher salaries and per-student expenditures. NEA’s NEA 2023-2024 Teacher Salary Benchmark Report  provides information from over 12,000 school districts on starting teacher salaries and salaries at other points of the teaching career continuum.

The NEA Education Support Professional Earnings Report offers a pay breakdown for school support staff, also known as education support professionals, working in K-12 public schools and higher education. NEA’s Higher Education Faculty Salary Analysis examines full-time faculty and graduate assistant salaries at the national, state, and institutional levels.

Additionally, NEA released financial snapshots for four demographics: teachers at the preK-12 level, higher education faculty, and support staff at both the preK-12 and higher education levels. 

NEA-New Hampshire President Megan Tuttle released the following quote following the report’s release: 

“Granite Staters overwhelmingly support our community public schools, which are attended by nearly 90% of students and 95% of students with a disability. New Hampshire educators are the backbone of our schools. They have committed their careers and lives to help their students build bright futures, but many face futures that are less than bright due to being undervalued and underpaid.  

While New Hampshire ranks in the Top 10 for public education funding, nationwide we rank 50th in state funding for public education. That means we, the property taxpayers, are forced to cover the balance because the state will not pay its fair share. Providing students across our state with a quality education is a shared responsibility and we need Concord to do their part – not take more public dollars out of public schools to pay for private school vouchers for wealthy families. 

New Hampshire’s underfunding from state coffers and overreliance on property taxpayer dollars to fund education means that students in different ZIP codes and communities don’t receive the same opportunities to learn. Differences in funding levels across the state also impact educator salaries, leading to serious recruitment and retention issues that directly harm student learning.  

As the largest educator union in the state, NEA-New Hampshire will continue fighting to ensure schools are resourced based on what children need, not where they live.” 

Data highlights and trends:

• New Hampshire is 8th in the nation for total public school revenue receipts per student in fall enrollment – $24,235; this is a 6.64% change from 2022-23, at which time New Hampshire ranked 10th at $22,726. 
• New Hampshire is ranked 50th in the nation for state revenue as a percentage of total revenue receipts per student in fall enrollment at 28.8%, up slightly from 28.3.% in 2022-23.  
• The average New Hampshire public school teacher salary in 2023–2024 increased 4.68% from the previous year to $67,170 but is still below the New Hampshire living wage of $88,074. 
• The average beginning teacher salary in New Hampshire was $42,588. At 2.4%, the increase in the average beginning teacher salary is less than the 3% increase in inflation over the past year.  
• ESPs in K-12 education make, on average, $32,762 per year in New Hampshire, a 5.09% increase from the previous year, yet still far below the New Hampshire living wage of $88,074. 
• Chronic low pay is plaguing the profession. A staggering 77.3% of New Hampshire school districts still pay a starting salary below $50,000. 
• Almost 33.6% of all full-time K-12 education support professionals earn less than $25,000 annually. 

While these numbers might look good, there is significant room for improvement. With inflation outpacing salary increases, educators are actually making less now than they were before. Despite the gains over the past year, New Hampshire educators are still underpaid. If we want to start valuing the educators that teach our children, we must step up and advocate for better pay. Educators often spend their own money on school supplies, and we should not return the favor by staying silent while their pay decreases. We are on the right track, but we must send a message to our legislators that they need to do more for New Hampshire educators and students. 

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About NEA-New Hampshire 

NEA-New Hampshire is the largest union of public employees in the state. Founded in 1854, the New Hampshire State Teachers Association became one of the “founding ten” state education associations that formed the National Education Association in 1857. Known today as NEA-NH, and comprised of more than 17,000 members, our mission to advocate for the children of New Hampshire and public-school employees, and to promote lifelong learning, remains true after more than 165 years. Our members are public school employees in all stages of their careers, including classroom teachers and other certified professionals, staff and instructors at public higher education institutions, students preparing for a teaching career, education support personnel and those retired from the profession.