Teacher Pay Gap Hits 25.2% in 2025, Study Finds

In 2025, teachers continued to face significant wage disparities compared with other college-educated professionals, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR).

The analysis found that teachers earned 25.2 percent less than comparable college graduates in other professions, marking a slight improvement from the 26.9 percent pay gap in 2024. Despite this minor reduction, the 2025 penalty remains more than four times higher than the 6.1 percent gap recorded in 1996. On average, teachers earned just 74.8 cents for every dollar earned by other college graduates in 2025, compared with 93.9 cents in 1996.

The pay disparity varied by gender, with male teachers facing a 34.5 percent penalty and female teachers facing a 20.0 percent penalty. Over the past three decades, inflation-adjusted weekly wages for public school teachers have declined by 6.2 percent, while wages for other college graduates have increased by 28.8 percent.

The report also highlighted significant state-level variation in teacher pay gaps, ranging from 10.4 percent in Rhode Island to 40.7 percent in Colorado. In 25 states, the pay penalty exceeded 25 percent.

While teachers generally receive better benefits than other professionals, these do not fully offset the growing wage disparity. After accounting for benefits, teachers still faced a 14.5 percent total compensation penalty in 2025.

The report emphasized the need for competitive pay to retain and attract qualified educators. It noted that pay consistently ranks as a top factor in teacher retention and recruitment, alongside working conditions and professional support.

Addressing these trends will require sustained investment in public education at all levels of government, as well as stronger support for public-sector collective bargaining—a key driver of better pay and job quality for teachers.

The CEPR, established in 1999, focuses on promoting democratic debate on economic and social issues affecting public welfare. The organization aims to present complex issues in an accessible manner to inform policy discussions and public choices.

Separately, a new report from the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP) highlights the growing consolidation in the U.S. healthcare system, which has contributed to rising costs and reduced patient access to care. The report, titled "Break Up Big Medicine," outlines a four-part plan to reduce healthcare spending by $795 billion annually, including breaking up corporate healthcare monopolies, capping prices, and strengthening enforcement of existing laws.

The AELP report points to decades of policy decisions that have empowered corporate healthcare giants, leading to higher costs and worse outcomes compared with other nations. It calls for legislative solutions, including bills introduced by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), to address market consolidation and price-gouging in the healthcare industry.

The report also highlights the administrative burden on physicians, with doctors spending an average of 40 hours per week on prior authorization requests—time that could otherwise be spent on patient care.

As healthcare costs continue to rise, the AELP argues that bold policy reforms are necessary to restore affordability and control to patients and clinicians. The report proposes standardizing healthcare prices using Medicare reimbursement rates, banning prior authorization, and expanding public healthcare options to reduce administrative waste and improve access to care.