From SDEA, South Dakota can celebrate recently moving from last place in teacher pay among the states to almost last, a jump of 3 states which still apparently leaves us last in our region, but not in the nation:
South Dakota Moves to 46 in Average Teacher Pay
Highest Ranking in History of NEA’s Rankings and Estimates Report SDEA Cautions Lawmakers to Not Become Complacent
Pierre, SD – The South Dakota Education Association (SDEA) announces that South Dakota has moved up three positions to rank 46th in average teacher salary according to the latest NEA Rankings and Estimates report. For the 2023–2024 school year, South Dakota’s average teacher salary is $56,328, a significant increase from the previous year’s average of $53,153 when the state ranked 49th. This current rank of 46 is the highest South Dakota has achieved since the report’s inception.
SDEA President Loren Paul credits three years of substantial investments in South Dakota’s public school funding formula, including six percent increases for FY 2023, seven percent for FY 2024, and four percent for FY 2025. These investments were all above the statutory increase of three percent.
“The state’s investments in public schools are paying off for teachers. Most school districts saw some nice bumps in pay, which encouraged teachers to stay,” said Paul. “We believe that it was a smart investment on the part of those legislators, and coupled with the strong accountability measures we passed in 2024, we saw meaningful gains in pay.”
However, Paul cautions that a drop in investment may lead to the state average sliding back again. With the 2025 legislators only giving schools a 1.25 percent increase, South Dakota falls behind inflation, and schools will struggle to keep salaries competitive. Despite the increase in the average, teachers across the nation still have less buying power.
The report shows that while the national average teacher salary increased by 3.8% from 2022–23 ($69,381) to 2023–24 ($72,030), this was the second-largest annual increase since 2006–07, following the 4.0% growth from 2021–22 to 2022-23. Twenty-three states experienced growth of over 4%. However, adjusted for inflation, teachers still 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,” said Paul. “My message to state policymakers is that we were moving in the right direction, but the work is not done. To ensure we have qualified and caring teachers in the classroom, we need to continue making strong investments in our schools.”
The report also shows good news for starting salaries. South Dakota moved up in average starting salary to number 25, with an average starting salary of $45,530 for the 2023–2024 school year, up from 27th place the previous year.
Comparison with Neighboring States:
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- North Dakota: Average teacher salary is $58,581
- Nebraska: Average teacher salary is $60,239
- Minnesota: Average teacher salary is $72,430
- Iowa: Average teacher salary is $62,399
- Montana: Average teacher is $57,556
- Wyoming: Average teacher salary is $63,669
Don’t worry, I’m sure we can be last again if the legislature is able to strip away tax dollars funding education to send to private schools this next session.
Don’t worry, I’m sure the Soye Latte from D9 will have some preposterous bill to introduce next session. Can’t wait to see who’s going to jail in this one!
Get disco on it! He wanted to spend $140,000,000.00 on home schoolers. He wanted to repeal seat belt laws, only would have lost the state $400,000,000.00 in federal highway funds. With financial acuity like that we couldn’t help but win!
Seriously: an analysis of the total lifetime compensation package of educational professionals yields results that are not too bad for those who choose that.
Who’s analysis are you using when you assert that?
The proven analysis of “pulling numbers from your own rear end” corp.
Regarding teachers/education professionals: rudimentary research provides abundant evidence. In quality of life surveys teachers/education always score above the average. Similar results when retired teachers are surveyed. Is it the pay? Is it the person? I can’t answer that, but I do know some rather dis-likable wealthy people.
Regarding disco: HB 1009 had a fiscal note presented with it that was $140,000,000.00. HB 1065, his “repeal the seat belt law”, took an early dirt nap in committee, however, prepared committee members questioned the financial impact on federal highway funding. Further research indicates that federal highway funding is tied to federal highway rules, one of which is mandatory seat belt usage. That funding, for 2024, was over $400,000,000.00 for SD. I rounded that number to $400,000,000.00.
Math is hard. Please, (Anonymous April 30, 2025 at 6:10 pm) don’t make it more difficult by applying your method.
Your “Rudimentary research” looks to be exactly what 6:10 snarked about.
What is our average home school teacher pay?
You volunteered for the job. Quit whining!
Public school teachers knew what they would make when they chose teaching as their career field.
Who cares.
You made a choice to home school so that is on you. What is especially concerning is that there is basically no regulations or transparency for those that homeschool their kids. Lord only knows what they are teaching their kids or even if they are teaching them anything. Plenty of opportunities for abuse with homeschooling.
John’s first class is on the evils of 5G. Better tax us to pay for it!
But seriously, that is very good pay for average wages across the state. People have worked 20 years in their jobs and aren’t making that. Plus they don’t get three months off either. South Dakota isn’t just bottom on the teacher pay scale. It’s bottom on the general pay scale. Teachers aren’t being treated or paid unfairly when you consider what everyone else makes in this state.
You sound like you think farmers get another check if they put up another mailbox, because it’s the same kind of misconception. Some have the flexibility to work a part-time job to supplement crappy wages in the summer, but it’s by no means “summers off.”
https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/the-truth-about-teachers-summers/2024/07
Pat, I come from teachers. I’m not just spouting off. The wages aren’t crappy. They are above the median wage for South Dakota. Plus they can do some part time work in the summer, if they want. South dakota wages in general are crap, and when that is considered, teachers are doing fine. Yes, they have a college degree. So do a lot of us that make less. When I was at bhsu, the teaching degrees were seen as a joke because the coursework was so easy. It seems everyone that was flunking out of the other departments, changed their major to education so they could get a degree. A lot of employers require passing a background check and have a professional code of conduct. (Responding to other posts in this thread). Big deal. The teachers that many of us grew up with have little sympathy for these teachers. Fact is they are doing better than the majority of South Dakotans.
That. Is nothing to brag about.
Teachers require a college degree (or multiple), have to be able to pass a criminal background check, and are held to a professional code of conduct.
A quarter of the legislature cannot pass those benchmarks.
Teaching isn’t a job “just anyone” can do.
The stats that actually matter are our positions left vacant or filled by an under-qualified individuals. They are higher now than they ever have been, which clearly shows the supply of folks willing to teach in SD is not close to meeting demand. Either folks start paying what the market demands or we should count on more school consolidations looming in the near future and more families moving to better-staffed districts that can actually offer educational opportunity for their kids instead of educational bare-minimum.
When I attended college at the University of Illinois back in the late 90s, the college of education had the lowest average ACT scores of the entire university. I doubt that’s improved much in the years since.
Still better ACT scores than the 50% who didn’t get into college, but if you’re going to use a tangental data point maybe focus on this state and this century.
Teachers work how many months of the year and receive how much time off during the months they’re working?
That is an excellent question, so I looked it up. The following is what I found.
South Dakota teachers are contracted for an average of 175 instructional days per year. However, their work extends beyond classroom hours. They grade assignments, plan lessons, attend professional development workshops, go to school events, participate in meetings, other administrative tasks, and complete certification renewal classes, much of which falls outside their contracted days.
With these extra responsibilities, the difference between hours for a typical full-time worker and a teacher aren’t as pronounced as one may assume. The search showed that an average SD teacher will work around 1800 hours per year vs around 1920 hours for an average full time job.
Much of this is set aside during planning periods, study halls etc. Yes they work more than most think but the actual number is overinflated. Don’t forget they are unionized. Don’t forget that more and more they are also turning their teaching responsibilities over to online sources and simply walk around the class to make sure the kids aren’t watching something inappropriate on their computers.
Many careers require work outside of scheduled hours.
Many don’t also. The search said the average full time worker works 1920 hours and the average teacher in works 1800 hours.
As an RN I was required to work from 7 PM to 7:30 AM, go home and sleep a few hours, return around 1 PM to attend mandatory meetings and inservices, then go home and take a nap, if possible, and be back on duty at 7 PM.
If blizzard warnings were issued, my shifts were not cancelled, I would be expected to report for work early, before the storm hit.
And of course I had to work weekends and holidays. And I didn’t get summers off. In fact I seldom got any vacation leave, we submitted requests for time off and those requests were denied. Most of the employers I worked for over the years would just issue checks for the money and not give us any time off. In 25 years I never got more than a week off at a time.
The teachers should descend from their ivory towers and find out what other people do for a living..They seem to think the rest of us do absolutely nothing. That’s really the message we’re getting from them. Nobody else went to college, nobody else works as hard as they do, nobody else has to get CEUs in their spare time, or get certifications for anything. What the rest of us figure out when we listen to the non-stop complaining from teachers is that they have absolutely no idea what other people do, or what they are paid to do it.
If you hate your job, get a different one..It’s that simple; if you are miserable in your job, do something else. Try farming, or law enforcement; or maybe you’d be happier as a plumber or HVAC technician. There’s lots of different things you could be doing.
Well said.
High school teachers are contracted to work 962.5 hours and elementary 875 hours. Of course there are planing and correcting hours but is a stretch to pull 1800 hours out of the air.
Exactly. And even if that number is close to correct, they work 3 weeks less than most of us and get paid above the average state wage. Sorry but the answer to better education isn’t paying teachers more. Surprised by all the conservatives here parroting union talking points.
A quick internet search reveals multiple sources analyzing the hours teachers work, each presenting different estimates. Based on what I found, 1,800 hours per year isn’t an unreasonable number.
Their contract states they get paid to work 962 hours. Your “estimates” are meaningless.
If you think that they should only get paid for instructional time, but not conferences, lesson planning, grading, staff meetings, training, 504/IEP meetings you should sit down and let the grown ups talk.
As opposed to entitled condescending children such as yourself?
It looks like you’re confusing the legal minimum required student contact hours (962) with the actual hours teachers are contracted to work. The 962-hour figure refers to the minimum instructional hours, not total contracted work time.
Teachers do far more than just teach in the classroom. Their contracts almost always exceed this minimum and include other required duties such as lesson planning, grading, supervising students, attending staff meetings, professional development, and handling administrative tasks.
Saying teachers are only paid for 962 hours would be like saying a cashier at Walmart is only paid for the time they scan items, but not the time they restock shelves, help customers, handle their register, and fulfill other responsibilities. That’s simply not how employment contracts work.
I’d like to see an example of a SD school district that only contracts a full time teacher for 962 hours because I doubt one exists.
I am not saying they only work 962.5 hours. I am saying they do not work 1800 hours.
Momma always said, never waste your breath on a mind made up.
A person working a 9 to 5 job for 50 weeks a year with 2 weeks vacation and 10 federal holidays, works 1,920 hours a year. A teacher working for 160 days a year, apparently the minimum standard for SD, works 1,280 hours a year. Granted, teachers may have other obligations time wise during the year,. But for the number of hours teaching, they are not underpaid. I would say that administration is overpaid compared to teachers.
Most people don’t get 10 federal holidays off every year. Many are lucky to get Christmas off.
Maybe instead of being an “crab in an bucket” about someone else’s job affording them a potential benefit, maybe try and fight for more benefits for more workers.
For the whiners that think teacher pay is high compared to the average income in general. Wake up! If we weren’t spending our time killing development of every kind, more and better paying jobs would be here.
Policies coming from the Hanson/ Lems bunch of nuts is more like the Handmaidens Tale than the American dream!
That’s not whining. That’s pointing out the facts. But yes we are killing development and hurting all of our earning chances. Two things can be true. All S.D. wages suck, but teachers are doing better than most here.
Compare teacher pay to other 4 year mandatory degree jobs.
pretty good pay for an indoor job, no nights, weekends, holidays or blizzards, and ten weeks off every summer.
When normal people think they are not paid enough for the work they do, they change careers.
maybe the teachers would be happier working in a dairy.
Problem is that they are, and schools can’t file the jobs. Try to keep up.
You can tell the folks that barely graduated high school by their comments.
Trying to educate the unruly brats the Trumpers “raise” is brutal.
Every uneducated three tooth Cletus with a kid is now your boss. Their child “never acts up” and if they do it’s your fault.
A scary percentage of the kids are messed up in some form or another.
Every Cletus with a comment should try teaching for awhile.
Cows don’t talk back.
Spot on!
Pat this post needs to be highlighted by Anon 5/1/9:30am.
What we really have is the “Cletus Caucus” that has taken over our South Dakota legislature. They are not 3 tooth yet but it won’t be long if they are successful in eliminating Fluoride with outbreaks of Measles and other preventable illnesses raging across South Dakota.
We will end up with higher auto and health insurance rates alone with the seatbelt law revoked by the Cletus Caucus too all in the name of FreeDumb!
Watch for falling debris and human remains from civilian and military aircraft being shot down as a result of the Cletus Caucus Chemtrail Conspiracy Craze.
“Cletus Caucus” 🤣
That’s awesome 👏
“Watch for falling debris and human remains from civilian and military aircraft being shot down as a result of the Cletus Caucus Chemtrail Conspiracy Craze”
And how exactly is that going to happen?
You would have to ask the Cletuses behind the Chemtrail petition on that one.
That’s right, mock the citizens of the state. Ridicule the taxpayers who pay the salaries of these entitled condescending brats we call educators.
I understand why that post might have irritated you. However, based on that one post, labeling educators as ‘condescending brats’ seems unfair and overly broad. It’s important to recognize that, while there are some bad eggs in any profession, most educators genuinely care about their students and work hard to support them.
Most citizens aren’t grumpy assholes like you, and appreciate having quality teachers to mold the future of our state.
I’ve only ever met one teacher who didn’t complain about his pay. He joined the national guard to earn additional income beyond the salary he earned for teaching.
Many of us are happy to mock the subset of overly self-important – obstinate – depraved – selfish – flag waving MAGA bullies like “super-nurse” and others who posted on this thread. There are parts of the state where local groups are working collaboratively to keep underfunded education on the rails and rolling. And there are other parts where the Cletus-ites have begrudgingly done the bare minimum to keep the doors open because they didn’t know a thing about the schools before they ran for school board “to save our culture.” Thank you to the places that are working to exceed the mission.
You must be a teacher.
Does that collaborative work also include student performance as part of competency evaluations, competency evaluations period, eliminating tenure, etc.? I’ve known far too many teachers that once tenure is attained the cruise control is flipped on and performance tanks.
Well, that’s one way to solve the paycheck problem, teach by day, serve by weekend. It’s admirable when someone finds a way to make it work. It’s unfortunate that so many teachers you know feel this way.
Median us salary is just over 60k
Median teacher salary is just over 70k. Teachers are doing better than most people.
Engineers make just over 90 k.
Teachers only work 75% of the year, so that comes out to just under 70k on an equivalent basis.
Teachers make more than the average Joe, only work 75% of the year, and on that basis make more than engineers, but less than lawyers, who make 145k a year.
It’s difficult to imagine anyone became a teacher without actually talking to any of them, or researching the pay and benefits before getting a teaching degree.
Teachers either knew what the profession offered them, or they shouldn’t have become teachers.