Hawaiʻi teachers earn more than the national average but lag behind their peers in other states with high costs of living, according to a recent report from the National Education Association.

In the 2024-25 school year, Hawaiʻi teachers made an average salary of $75,860, slightly higher than the national average of $74,495. The state’s average starting salary for new teachers was $51,835, above the national average of $48,112, according to the National Education Association, a union with more than 3 million members. 

In the same year, Hawaiʻi ranked 16th in the nation for highest average teacher salaries. In a few other states with high costs of living, some teachers earned nearly six figures. In California, for example, the average teacher salary was $103,552, while New York educators earned more than $98,000. 

The average teacher in several states — including Mississippi, Florida and Louisiana— made less than $60,000 in 2025. 

Hawai‘i has historically struggled with recruiting and retaining educators and has increasingly relied on unlicensed teachers to fill vacant positions in recent years. The starting salary for these teachers, who must have their bachelor’s degree and actively work toward earning a license, is $53,649.  

The National Education Association’s study also found that Hawaiʻi teachers’ paychecks are nearly the same as they were a decade ago when adjusted for inflation. In the 2014-15 school year, the average teacher salary adjusted for inflation was $75,454. 

Hawaiʻi also recorded one of the smallest increases in teacher pay in 2024 — roughly 2% on average — that fall, the report notes. Nationally, teachers received a 3.5% raise, with a few states increasing their average teacher salaries by several percentage points between fall 2023 and 2024.

This fall, all Hawaiʻi teachers are receiving a 3.5% raise. 

Additional changes are on the way that could ensure higher salaries for Hawaiʻi teachers. Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a bill that aims to guarantee annual salary raises for Hawaiʻi teachers as long as funding is available. The raises would come out to roughly 3% each year under the state’s current salary schedule. 

Historically, Hawaiʻi teachers have not been guaranteed automatic pay increases and have gone without raises tied to their years of experience during times of economic uncertainty, including the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The current contract for public school teachers is set to expire in June, meaning the union will need to come to the bargaining table with state leaders later this school year. 

See how Hawaiʻi teacher salaries compared to the rest of the nation in the 2024-25 school year: