Teacher Stephani Brooks works with a small group of students at Journey Elementary School in Sioux Falls on Dec. 5, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
By: Makenzie Huber
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) – South Dakota ranks 46th in the nation for average teacher salaries — its highest standing since the National Education Association started ranking states in 1943, according to the South Dakota Education Association.
The state previously reached 47th in the 2019 report for the 2017-18 school year, after South Dakota lawmakers approved a half-cent sales tax increase in 2016. The effort poured millions of dollars into school districts with the intent of raising average teacher salaries.
The state fell to 50th by the 2021 report and ranked 49th in last year’s report.
South Dakota saw one of the greatest jumps in standing this year compared to other states, due to a 6% increase in salaries. During the 2022-23 school year, South Dakota’s average teacher salary stood at $53,153. In the 2023-24 school year, the average teacher made $56,328.
South Dakota Education Association President Loren Paul attributes that to increases in state aid to public education from state lawmakers. Legislators approved a 6% increase in 2022, 7% in 2023 and 4% in 2024. Those infusions were largely due to an influx of federal COVID-19 relief funds into the state budget.
Lawmakers also established a minimum teacher salary for districts and tied teacher compensation requirements to state aid increases during the 2024 legislative session. Both were “strong accountability measures” resulting in “meaningful gains,” Paul said in a news release.
Lawmakers approved a 1.25% increase in education funding this legislative session. The slight increase was approved due to lower-than-anticipated revenue and because COVID funding has run out.
Paul warns the slight increase could cause teacher pay to fall further behind inflation. Adjusted for inflation, South Dakota teachers make less than they did a decade ago.
“While we see moving up in rank as good news, we are concerned that lawmakers will take their feet off the gas and salary increases will stall, forcing many teachers to leave the profession because they can’t pay their bills,” Paul said.
Compared to neighboring states, South Dakota’s average teacher pay of $56,328 remains the lowest this year:
- North Dakota: $58,581.
- Minnesota: $72,430.
- Iowa: $62,399.
- Nebraska: $60,239.
- Wyoming: $63,669.
- Montana: $57,556.
States that rank lower than South Dakota are Louisiana, West Virginia, Missouri, Florida and Mississippi (there are 51 spots in the rankings, due to the inclusion of Washington, D.C.). Mississippi’s average teacher salary of $53,704 is the nation’s lowest, according to the report, just a 0.7% increase compared to the previous year’s salary.
California reports the highest average salary at $101,084 — a 6.2% increase from last year. Oklahoma saw the largest percent change in its salaries at 10.5%, increasing to 35th ($61,330) from 43rd in the rankings.
South Dakota’s ranking for average starting salary improved to 25th in the nation, at $45,530, which is up from 27th in last year’s report.
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