North Carolina- National
50 – Public Education Funding Level (Ed. Law Center, Making the Grade 2025)
50 – Public Education Funding Effort (Ed. Law Center, Making the Grade 2025)
17 – Public Education Funding Distribution (Ed. Law Center, Making the Grade 2025)
38 – Average Teacher Starting Salary (NEA, Educator Pay Data 2026)
43 – Average Teacher Salary (NEA, Educator Pay Data 2026) North Carolina’s estimated rank for 2025-26 falls to 46 (see page 36 in the NEA report to see state estimates).
39 – Per Pupil Spending (NEA, Educator Pay Data 2026)
48 – Teacher Salary Growth 2002-2022 (Reason Foundation, K-12 Education Spending Spotlight) Growth was –20.6% over 20 years.
2 – Number of Rural Students (Why Rural Matters 2025); Texas = 1