While no national data precisely tracks the issue, media and district-level reports suggest the following are among the 10 states with the highest demand for teachers in 2022-2023:
1. California
According to the U.S. Department for Education, California reported shortages for the following subjects in the 2022-23 school year for all grade levels, including prekindergarten:
- language arts
- social studies
- art and music education
- science
- computer science
- physical education
- world languages
- career and technical information
This problem may also be worse than it appears. Currently, it’s estimated that nearly 1 out of 5 teachers in the state are working with substandard credentialing.
To help counter the teacher shortage as well as rising costs and pay rises, minimum funding (Prop. 98) levels for K-12 schools and community colleges saw a year-on-year increase of $37.2 billion in 2022-23, with $350 million allocated for the Teacher Residency Grant Program, aimed at addressing shortage areas.
California has also incentivized teachers to relocate. While the average teacher salary nationwide is $65,293, California teachers earned a median wage of $85,856 in 2020-21, making teachers in California the third-highest paid in the country.
2. Texas
The Texas Education Agency states that there is no official definition of a teacher shortage, but points to the state’s high attrition rate of 12% (the percentage of teachers who leave the field in a given year) as a reliable indicator. Several smaller and rural school districts in Texas have switched to a 4-day week for the 2022-23 school year in an effort to attract and retain teachers.
Additionally, a 2021 poll found 68% of teachers in the state were “seriously considering” leaving the profession, citing low pay and burnout as key reasons.
Texas has reported shortages in the following subject areas for the current school year:
- mathematics
- science
- language arts
- computer science
- special education
- ESL
- career and technical education
3. Florida
A Department of Education report for the current school year showed close to 9,000 teacher vacancies across the state. Shortages have been reported across all grade levels, concentrated in the following subject areas:
- general science
- physical science
- English
- exceptional student education (ESE)
- reading
The state governor Ron DeSantis has proposed 3 unorthodox bills for the 2023 legislative session to aid teacher recruitment. One proposed piece of legislation aims to encourage retired law enforcement officers and first responders with bachelor’s degrees to enter teaching positions. Incentives include $4,000 bonuses and fee waivers on teacher certification exams. The state already offers a Military Veterans Certification Pathway which enables veterans with at least 60 college credits to earn temporary 5-year teaching certification.
4. Washington
Washington has thousands of people working in classrooms who have not completed their teaching credentials. In 2019, it was estimated that the state had 9,000 emergency-certified teachers operating.
In the 2022-23 school year, there are qualified teaching staff shortages from pre-K to grade 12 in the following subject areas:
- core elementary education
- special education
- science
- language arts
- health and physical fitness
- math
- social studies
- career and technical education
- reading
Additionally, the state is experiencing shortages in support staff, including counselors, classroom assistants, bus drivers, and custodians.
To help recruit more teachers and solve the shortage of qualified teachers, the state has been working on diversifying the teaching workforce through its innovative Recruiting Washington Teachers (RWT) program. RWT offers a pathway from high school to teaching jobs, with a focus on students of Color and bilingual students.
5. Arizona
At the start of the 2020-21 school year in Arizona, 751 teachers resigned from their post, abandoned their jobs, or did not show up for work. Almost half of these cited the pandemic as their main reason for leaving the profession, but there are other, longer-standing issues. Arizona has a notoriously high student-to-teacher ratio. The average teacher salary in the 2021-22 school year was $52,157 per year, falling just below the minimum living wage, and ranking 44th nationally.
For the 2022-23 school year, the state has reported shortages in the following subjects:
- early childhood education
- special education
- English
- math
- science
- ESL
English, math, and science teacher shortages are concentrated at the middle school level, while special education teachers are needed across all grade levels and specializations.
In efforts to address teacher shortages, Arizona has launched teacher mentoring programs and has created a fast-track certification program that can be completed in 9 months. In July 2022, Governor Doug Ducey signed into law a controversial bill permitting individuals enrolled in but not yet graduated from college to teach in public schools.
6. Wisconsin
At the start of August 2022, the Madison School District in Wisconsin had 141 teacher positions yet to fill. Other districts are struggling as well, and all cite a lack of qualified applicants as the main reason for the staffing issues. Substitute teachers have been called in to help cover massive shortages and the use of emergency teaching licenses has nearly tripled since the 2012-2013 school year. Emergency licenses in Wisconsin permit individuals with bachelor’s degrees but without teacher training programs to teach.
For the 2022-23 school year, Wisconsin has reported shortages in these subject areas:
- elementary core subject
- math
- science
- ESL
- early childhood special education
7. Alabama
In June 2022, a report by the Alabama Commission on the Evaluation of Services found that at least 25% of first-time teacher certification graduates in Alabama do not go on to tech in the public school system, creating a significant supply gap.
While Alabama does not track school-level vacancies at state level, shortages have been reported in the following areas for the 2022-23 school year:
- math
- science
- English
- core subjects
- social studies
- special education
Efforts to improve teacher recruitment and retention have included a record $8.3 billion education budget, approved in 2022, as well as a new law to permit for-profit teacher education programs in the state, and improvements to teacher retirements benefits.
8. Nevada
Nevada’s rural landscape and low population density make it difficult to determine vacancy numbers for the state. This is particularly true because many counties resort to “flexible” hiring practices.
More than a third of schools in the Clark County School District reported vacancy rates of 10% or higher at the start of the 2022-23 school year. As of July 2022, 1,368 classroom positions were open out of a total of approximately 18,000. In an effort to tackle these serious shortages, the district has raised starting salaries by $7,000 and has introduced a $4,000 relocation bonus to out-of-state teachers or those willing to move more than 100 miles in-state.
Nevada’s teacher shortage spans all grade levels and subjects, including:
- math
- science
- core subjects
- special education
- ESL
- computer science
- art and music
To combat shortages, the state is looking to improve pay and provide support systems to existing teachers via mentoring networks. Many further improvements are also considered at the state’s Annual Summit on Nevada Education, which is now in its eight year.
9. Kansas
The teacher shortage in Kansas is at an all-time high, with 4% of teaching jobs unfilled as of summer 2022 – which translates to roughly 1,400 open positions. The Blue Valley School District alone reported 250 resignations and retirements earlier this year. To attract teachers, the Kansas City District offers competitive starting teacher salaries – close to $45,000 per year, with up to a $5,000 bump for hard-to fill positions.
In the 2022-23 school year, Kansas reported shortages primarily in special education teaching roles, including hearing and visual impairment specialists, as well as key support roles, including occupational therapists, psychologists, and interpreters.
10. Hawaii
Hawaii has the highest teacher turnover rate in the country, and nearly twice the national average of uncertified teachers. The state is struggling to fill specialist teaching positions across all age groups, with teachers of Hawaiian language immersion particularly in demand.
To counter the issue, the Hawaii State Department of Education has begun to offer salary boosts of $3,000 to $10,000 per year for certain hard to fill teaching positions, including specialized and remote roles.
For the 2022-23 school year, shortages were reported for the following subjects:
- special education
- math
- science
- English
- Hawaiian immersion
- ESL
Note: All subject shortage area information above has been taken from the U.S. Department of Education
How teacher pay compares across the country
For 2020-21, the average starting salary for an educator was $41,770, according to the National Education Association. This represents a considerable rise from a decade earlier, when the average starting salary was only $34,629.
However, when looking at average salaries for teachers across all experience levels, we see a different picture. For the 2020-21 school year, the average salary for a public school teacher was $65,293, a 4% decrease from the previous year when adjusted for inflation, and barely a 1% increase over the past decade.
At state level, there are large discrepancies in teacher pay. The top 5 states for average teacher salaries in 2020-21 were:
- New York – $88,381
- Massachusetts – $84,659
- California – $84,531
- Connecticut – $78,427
- Washington – $76,743
The 5 states with the lowest average teacher salaries were:
- Arkansas – $50,456
- West Virginia – $50,238
- Florida – $49,102
- South Dakota – $48,984
- Mississippi – $46,843
