Michigan teachers have lost more ground on pay than educators in any other state over the past three decades, and the findings arrive less than a week before East Lansing Public Schools opens Monday, Aug. 24, and Lansing School District students return Wednesday, Aug. 26.
A study released Tuesday, Aug. 18, by Michigan State University's Education Policy Innovation Collaborative found the average Michigan teacher salary has fallen 29% since its 1995 peak when adjusted for inflation. In 2025 dollars, that's a drop from $100,064 to $71,023, according to WLNS.
No other state comes close. Indiana, ranked second-worst, saw a 20.7% decline over the same period.
The report, "Teacher Compensation in Michigan: Recent Trends and Public Opinion," is the third annual edition from EPIC. Lead author Jason Burns, an EPIC research specialist, said the findings point to an opening for lawmakers.
"Teacher compensation in Michigan has decreased kind of across the board for a while now. But what we see is that there's pretty strong public support for reversing that," Burns said. "I think that provides an opportunity for policymakers to act."
Starting pay ranks 45th
New teachers feel the squeeze most acutely. Michigan's average starting salary sits at roughly $43,093, about $5,000 below the national average and good for 45th in the country. The state ranked 31st for starting pay in 2017, and from 1970 through 2007 it regularly placed in the top 10 overall.
Burns recommended two policy fixes: a statewide salary schedule that would standardize raises based on experience or performance, and a state-mandated minimum teacher salary. A survey of 1,000 adults conducted for the study found nearly 72% believe starting teacher salaries should increase, and roughly two in three support the state setting a minimum.
Survey respondents said a new teacher should earn about $55,074, some $12,000 above the current average starting salary.
Lansing-area schools open Aug. 24-26
Lansing School District's Aug. 26 opening includes the debut of the new $40 million Willow School, a 67,215-square-foot K-8 building on the city's north side funded through the district's $129.7 million voter-approved 2022 bond.
The EPIC study lands amid continued debate over whether Michigan's $150 million one-time educator bonus program does enough. An MEA analysis found Lansing teachers would receive about $497 each from that program, as we reported Aug. 14. Burns told WILX on Aug. 13 that the pay gap between Michigan teachers and other college-educated workers has grown to nearly 29%, up from about 18% previously.
Geoff Bontrager, superintendent of Northwest Community Schools, told WILX the same day that per-pupil funding increases would be more effective than one-time bonuses. "That would give us the consistency to not only raise our starting pay for our teachers, but also to consistently offer cost-of-living raises to keep the occupation consistent," Bontrager said.
Only about 22% of current Michigan teachers would recommend the profession to their own children, according to Burns.
