The big picture: The National Education Association released its annual report on educator pay in America, and Idaho’s average teacher pay has increased — rising from 40th in the nation to 34th.
By the numbers: Here’s how Idaho’s 2024 rankings stacked up.
• Average starting teacher salary: $45,717 — 24th nationally
• Average teacher salary: $61,516 — 34th nationally
• Average K-12 ESP earnings: $28,345 — 47th nationally
• Per-student spending: $9,942 — 51st nationally
Zoom in: The numbers are better for educators, but they’re a snapshot of a specific moment in time, not the current situation in Idaho.
• The rankings reflect the $330 million investments made in educator and ESP pay during the 2023 legislative session for the 2023-2024 school year.
• Gov. Brad Little pushed for the career ladder cell increase to retain educators after the COVID-19 pandemic. Doing so headed off the Quality Education citizen ballot initiative, which would have made sweeping and significant changes to Idaho’s education system.
• “The governor recognized the funding crisis in education and the difficulty of retaining educators who had experienced intense disrespect and hostility during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Chris Parri, IEA’s political director. “He correctly judged that Idaho would continue to lose educators to higher-paying states if he did not act, and he made the right decision for our public schools.”
Yes, but: While an improvement, there are other factors to consider, such as Idaho’s increased cost of living.
• The median home price in Idaho in 2024 was $457,000, according to real estate data company ATTOM.
• Idaho’s once-famous low cost of living isn’t what it used to be. In 2024, the Idaho Statesman reported a single person would need to earn $88,733 to comfortably cover all basics, wants and savings.
Surrounded by competition: Increasing educator pay is common sense for Idaho, which is surrounded by Utah, Oregon, Washington and Nevada — all of which offer higher salaries. The risk of defection is greatest in the Panhandle: the average Washington educator makes just over $30,000 more than the average Idaho educator living a few miles away.
The real problem: The 2025 legislative session was one of the worst for public education in living memory.
• Idaho is dead last in per-pupil funding. The nearest state in the rankings, Utah, spends $1,347 more per student.
• The $82 million gap in special education funding — a result of underfunding by both the federal and state governments — was a non-starter this session. Even a $3 million funding request was denied.
• At the same time, lawmakers approved $50 million in tax credit vouchers to be used for private school costs, siphoning from the state’s general fund while offering no meaningful oversight of the program.
• Lawmakers also approved $253 million in tax cuts, which they proudly touted as the largest such package in Idaho history.
• Meanwhile, Idaho public schools are asking for approximately $224 million in bonds and levies on May 20 — a result of Idaho’s chronic underfunding of higher education.
• “Those numbers are an infuriating example of just how easy it would be to fund Idaho’s public schools,” Parri said. “Idaho has the money. Instead, the legislature has chosen to ignore its constitutional obligation and pass the buck onto cash-strapped local communities, which are forced to make up the difference in the form of bonds and levies. Many schools in Idaho are literally falling apart and struggling to keep the lights on, and the legislature simply doesn’t care.”
The bottom line: Idaho Education Association members will keep fighting for competitive pay for the state’s educators. But to truly fund public schools, the legislature must return to a pro-public education majority — and that’s where IEA’s May Matters campaign comes in. Read more and get involved.
