Public education at a crossroads: Enrollment, staffing, and teacher salary trends 2002-2020

This section of the Public Education at a Crossroads study examines trends in K-12 public school enrollment, staffing levels, and teachers’ salaries.

Between 2002 and 2020, U.S. public education enrollment grew by 6.6%, as displayed in Table 13. During this time, enrollment declined in 18 states, with New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan, and Maine all losing over 12% of their student populations. The states with the largest increases were Utah, Nevada, Texas, Idaho, and Arizona—all of which had enrollment growth at or above 25%.

In 2020, three states—California, Texas, and Florida— had a combined 14.6 million students, accounting for over 28.7% of the 50.8 million public school students in the United States.

Table 13: Public School Enrollment Growth (2002-2020)

Growth Rank	2020 Rank	State	2002	2020	Growth
		United States	47,671,870	50,796,445	6.6%
1	28	Utah	484,684	684,694	41.3%
2	33	Nevada	356,814	496,934	39.3%
3	2	Texas	4,163,447	5,495,398	32.0%
4	38	Idaho	246,521	311,096	26.2%
5	13	Arizona	922,180	1,152,586	25.0%
6	18	Colorado	742,145	913,223	23.1%
7	46	Delaware	115,555	139,930	21.1%
8	6	Georgia	1,470,634	1,769,657	20.3%
9	9	North Carolina	1,315,363	1,560,350	18.6%
10	23	South Carolina	676,198	786,879	16.4%
11	37	Nebraska	285,095	330,018	15.8%
12	3	Florida	2,500,478	2,858,461	14.3%
13	14	Washington	1,009,200	1,142,073	13.2%
14	26	Oklahoma	622,139	703,719	13.1%
15	12	Virginia	1,163,091	1,297,012	11.5%
16	29	Oregon	551,480	610,648	10.7%
17	34	Arkansas	449,805	496,927	10.5%
18	45	South Dakota	127,542	139,949	9.7%
19	16	Tennessee	924,899	1,014,744	9.7%
20	48	North Dakota	106,047	116,185	9.6%
21	49	Wyoming	88,128	94,616	7.4%
22	31	Iowa	485,932	517,324	6.5%
23	32	Kansas	470,205	497,963	5.9%
24	27	Kentucky	654,363	691,996	5.8%
25	20	Maryland	860,640	909,404	5.7%
26	15	Indiana	996,133	1,051,411	5.5%
27	11	New Jersey	1,341,656	1,411,917	5.2%
28	21	Minnesota	851,384	893,203	4.9%
29	36	New Mexico	320,260	331,206	3.4%
30	24	Alabama	737,190	744,235	1.0%
31	19	Missouri	909,792	910,466	0.1%
32	1	California	6,247,726	6,249,005	0.0%
33	43	Montana	151,947	149,917	-1.3%
34	17	Massachusetts	973,139	959,394	-1.4%
35	47	Alaska	134,349	132,017	-1.7%
36	40	Hawaii	184,546	181,088	-1.9%
37	22	Wisconsin	879,361	855,400	-2.7%
38	25	Louisiana	731,328	710,439	-2.9%
39	7	Pennsylvania	1,821,627	1,732,449	-4.9%
40	35	Mississippi	493,507	466,002	-5.6%
41	5	Illinois	2,071,391	1,943,117	-6.2%
42	4	New York	2,872,132	2,692,589	-6.3%
43	39	West Virginia	282,885	263,486	-6.9%
44	8	Ohio	1,830,985	1,689,867	-7.7%
45	30	Connecticut	570,228	523,690	-8.2%
46	44	Rhode Island	158,046	143,557	-9.2%
47	41	Maine	205,586	180,291	-12.3%
48	10	Michigan	1,730,669	1,495,925	-13.6%
49	50	Vermont	101,179	86,759	-14.3%
50	42	New Hampshire	206,847	177,351	-14.3%

Public School Enrollment Growth (2002-2020)

Staffing Trends: Non-Teachers and Teachers

Tables 14 and 15 summarize the growth in non-teaching and teaching staff between 2002 and 2020. Nationwide, non-teaching staff grew by 20%, with 42 states seeing increases. A total of 20 states grew the number of non-teachers by at least 25%, with Ohio topping the list at 117.3%, followed by South Carolina at 82.1%, Utah at 62.8%, and Nevada at 58%.

For context, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reported there was a total of 3,485,132 non-teachers in 2020, 10.8% of whom were exclusively classified as district-level employees—meaning they work in district central offices rather than for individual schools.

For 2020, non-teaching staff are disaggregated by the NCES as follows:

1,200,343 Other Support Services Staff (3.1% growth rate since 2002)
883,071 Instructional Aides (30.9% growth rate since 2002)
392,699 Student Support Staff (113.5% growth rate since 2002)
281,179 School and Library Support Staff (-0.4% growth rate since 2002)
193,734 Principals and Assistant Principals (20.7% growth rate since 2002)
192,642 Administrative Support Staff—School District Staff (9.9% growth rate since 2002)
119,539 Guidance Counselors (19.5% growth rate since 2002)
104,603 Instructional Coordinators—School District Staff (127.4% growth rate since 2002)
77,875 Officials and Administrators—School District Staff (22.6% growth rate since 2002)
39,447 Librarians (-27.4% growth rate since 2002)

Figure 6: Staffing Growth by NCES Category (2002-2020)

In comparison, the number of teachers in the U.S. grew modestly at 6.6%, with 38 states seeing increases.

Of the 12 states with negative teacher growth, only three saw reductions in the number of non-teachers (Louisiana, Michigan, and Alabama).

Nationwide, non-teachers now outnumber teachers, accounting for 52.1% of public education staff.

Table 14: Non-Teaching Staff Growth (2002-2020)

Growth Rank	2020 Rank	State	2002	2020	Growth
		United States	2,904,667	3,485,132	20%
1	3	Ohio	107,892	234,439	117.3%
2	25	South Carolina	24,722	45,031	82.1%
3	34	Utah	18,900	30,767	62.8%
4	36	Nevada	14,691	23,210	58%
5	16	Colorado	43,400	63,791	47%
6	46	North Dakota	6,860	9,849	43.6%
7	7	New Jersey	89,726	125,194	39.5%
8	29	Oregon	29,071	39,831	37%
9	14	Tennessee	53,569	70,473	31.6%
10	49	Wyoming	7,022	9,235	31.5%
11	42	Hawaii	8,457	11,115	31.4%
12	47	Rhode Island	7,480	9,816	31.2%
13	18	Maryland	45,508	59,673	31.1%
14	24	Oklahoma	34,773	45,586	31.1%
15	11	Virginia	75,935	99,122	30.5%
16	15	Minnesota	51,660	66,388	28.5%
17	23	Connecticut	43,111	54,500	26.4%
18	2	California	270,263	341,291	26.3%
19	13	Indiana	69,280	87,018	25.6%
20	37	Maine	17,331	21,740	25.4%
21	1	Texas	299,709	373,941	24.8%
22	35	Nebraska	19,458	24,174	24.2%
23	9	Georgia	97,322	119,474	22.8%
24	43	Montana	9,080	11,059	21.8%
25	19	Arizona	47,961	57,924	20.8%
26	26	Iowa	34,598	41,723	20.6%
27	5	Florida	148,012	178,006	20.3%
28	39	New Hampshire	14,464	17,324	19.8%
29	41	Idaho	10,919	12,736	16.6%
30	12	North Carolina	80,480	93,841	16.6%
31	6	Pennsylvania	110,768	128,265	15.8%
32	30	Arkansas	33,499	38,405	14.6%
33	44	Vermont	9,496	10,653	12.2%
34	31	Kansas	32,071	35,945	12.1%
35	45	South Dakota	9,142	10,238	12%
36	50	Delaware	6,600	7,386	11.9%
37	17	Massachusetts	56,687	62,449	10.2%
38	48	Alaska	8,662	9,496	9.6%
39	32	Mississippi	33,941	35,648	5%
40	38	West Virginia	17,537	18,408	5%
41	22	Wisconsin	52,607	54,908	4.4%
42	20	Kentucky	54,451	56,659	4.1%
43	8	Illinois	125,929	124,433	-1.2%
44	4	New York	214,071	208,794	-2.5%
45	21	Missouri	59,515	56,188	-5.6%
46	10	Michigan	116,045	107,053	-7.7%
47	33	Alabama	41,375	34,435	-16.8%
48	28	Louisiana	51,572	40,666	-21.1%
49	40	New Mexico	23,118	16,371	-29.2%
50	27	Washington	59,487	41,294	-30.6%

Non-Teaching Staff Growth (2002-2020)

Table 15: Teaching Staff Growth (2002-2020)

Growth Rank	2020 Rank	State	Teaching Staff 2002	Teaching Staff 2020	Teaching Staff Growth
		United States	2,999,528	3,198,170	6.6%
1	33	Utah	22,211	30,256	36.2%
2	35	Nevada	19,276	25,508	32.3%
3	1	Texas	282,847	364,478	28.9%
4	46	Delaware	7,571	9,747	28.7%
5	7	Georgia	92,731	117,837	27.1%
6	39	Idaho	13,854	17,207	24.2%
7	4	Florida	134,684	166,002	23.3%
8	21	Colorado	44,182	53,901	22.0%
9	16	Washington	52,533	62,212	18.4%
10	10	North Carolina	85,684	100,777	17.6%
11	28	Arkansas	33,079	38,629	16.8%
12	47	North Dakota	8,035	9,284	15.5%
13	22	South Carolina	46,616	53,556	14.9%
14	18	Maryland	53,774	61,485	14.3%
15	36	Nebraska	21,083	24,028	14.0%
16	8	New Jersey	103,611	117,060	13.0%
17	42	Hawaii	11,007	12,221	11.0%
18	15	Tennessee	58,358	64,784	11.0%
19	50	Wyoming	6,662	7,391	10.9%
20	30	Kansas	33,084	36,603	10.6%
21	13	Massachusetts	68,942	75,152	9.0%
22	34	Oregon	28,262	30,238	7.0%
23	23	Arizona	46,015	48,912	6.3%
24	14	Missouri	65,240	69,145	6.0%
25	45	South Dakota	9,370	9,930	6.0%
26	6	Pennsylvania	118,470	124,294	4.9%
27	20	Minnesota	53,081	55,630	4.8%
28	26	Kentucky	40,376	42,223	4.6%
29	24	Oklahoma	41,632	43,315	4.0%
30	3	New York	209,128	217,398	4.0%
31	17	Indiana	59,659	61,712	3.4%
32	44	Montana	10,408	10,675	2.6%
33	5	Illinois	129,600	132,815	2.5%
34	31	Iowa	34,906	35,737	2.4%
35	25	Connecticut	41,773	42,386	1.5%
36	32	Mississippi	31,214	31,578	1.2%
37	37	New Mexico	21,823	21,850	0.1%
38	41	New Hampshire	14,677	14,694	0.1%
39	11	Virginia	89,314	87,147	-2.4%
40	43	Rhode Island	11,104	10,704	-3.6%
41	19	Wisconsin	63,310	59,801	-5.5%
42	48	Vermont	8,554	8,042	-6.0%
43	38	West Virginia	20,138	18,854	-6.4%
44	49	Alaska	8,026	7,484	-6.8%
45	27	Alabama	46,785	42,022	-10.2%
46	2	California	304,203	271,805	-10.7%
47	40	Maine	16,741	14,826	-11.4%
48	9	Ohio	122,115	105,998	-13.2%
49	12	Michigan	98,849	84,838	-14.2%
50	29	Louisiana	49,980	38,589	-22.8%

Teaching Staff Growth (2002-2020)

Teacher Salaries

Nationwide, inflation-adjusted average teacher salaries fell by 0.6% between 2002 and 2020, with a total of 26 states seeing declines. Teacher salaries grew the most in Washington, Massachusetts, and New York, while Indiana, Michigan, and Florida saw the largest declines. In 2020, the average teacher salary in the U.S. was $64,133, with three states—New York, California, and Massachusetts—all exceeding $80,000.

Table 16: Average Teacher Salary Growth (2002-2020)

Growth Rank	2020 Rank	State	2002	2020	Growth
		United States	$64,522	$64,133	-0.6%
1	5	Washington	$62,762	$76,743	22.3%
2	3	Massachusetts	$72,623	$84,290	16.1%
3	1	New York	$75,088	$87,069	16.0%
4	36	North Dakota	$46,573	$53,525	14.9%
5	19	Wyoming	$54,637	$59,786	9.4%
6	49	South Dakota	$45,190	$48,984	8.4%
7	17	Vermont	$56,663	$61,108	7.8%
8	33	Oklahoma	$50,170	$54,096	7.8%
9	2	California	$78,479	$84,531	7.7%
10	13	Hawaii	$61,536	$65,409	6.3%
11	29	Nebraska	$52,325	$55,267	5.6%
12	8	Maryland	$69,674	$73,444	5.4%
13	23	Iowa	$55,204	$58,184	5.4%
14	39	Montana	$49,643	$52,135	5.0%
15	7	Rhode Island	$71,851	$75,336	4.9%
16	20	New Hampshire	$57,637	$59,622	3.4%
17	31	New Mexico	$52,619	$54,256	3.1%
18	28	Maine	$53,861	$55,276	2.6%
19	12	Oregon	$66,541	$67,685	1.7%
20	4	Connecticut	$77,328	$78,427	1.4%
21	30	Utah	$54,026	$54,678	1.2%
22	9	Alaska	$71,360	$72,010	0.9%
23	26	Texas	$56,651	$57,090	0.8%
24	34	Alabama	$53,708	$54,095	0.7%
25	6	New Jersey	$76,809	$76,376	-0.6%
26	35	Kentucky	$54,801	$53,907	-1.6%
27	42	Louisiana	$52,458	$51,566	-1.7%
28	24	Colorado	$58,712	$57,706	-1.7%
29	21	Wisconsin	$60,983	$59,431	-2.5%
30	50	Mississippi	$48,078	$46,843	-2.6%
31	16	Ohio	$63,578	$61,406	-3.4%
32	22	Minnesota	$60,928	$58,663	-3.7%
33	27	Nevada	$58,863	$56,672	-3.7%
34	10	Pennsylvania	$73,065	$70,339	-3.7%
35	43	Kansas	$53,562	$51,320	-4.2%
36	25	Virginia	$60,260	$57,665	-4.3%
37	11	Illinois	$71,384	$68,083	-4.6%
38	18	Georgia	$63,641	$60,578	-4.8%
39	47	West Virginia	$53,068	$50,238	-5.3%
40	46	Arkansas	$53,373	$50,456	-5.5%
41	40	Tennessee	$55,616	$51,862	-6.7%
42	14	Delaware	$69,836	$64,853	-7.1%
43	44	Missouri	$54,866	$50,817	-7.4%
44	37	South Carolina	$57,649	$53,329	-7.5%
45	38	Idaho	$57,169	$52,875	-7.5%
46	45	Arizona	$57,721	$50,782	-12.0%
47	32	North Carolina	$61,630	$54,150	-12.1%
48	48	Florida	$56,713	$49,102	-13.4%
49	15	Michigan	$76,064	$63,568	-16.4%
50	41	Indiana	$63,818	$51,745	-18.9%