Fringe benefits boost average Kentucky teacher's compensation to nearly $100,000

Frankfort, KY – A national union recently ranked Kentucky teachers’ salaries among the nation’s lowest. However, a new report by the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions reveals significant increases in teachers’ compensation when fringe benefits like pensions and health insurance are factored in.

"Estimated Growth in Annual Public Teachers’ Compensation in Kentucky," co-authored by Paul Coomes, Ph.D. and John Garen, Ph.D., analyzes data from 2006 to 2024, emphasizing the role of state-funded benefits in boosting overall pay.

Key findings from the report include:

• Total compensation growth: In 2024, the average teacher’s salary in Kentucky was $58,788. However, with fringe benefits of $35,406, total compensation reached $94,194 – a 61.6% increase from $58,301 in 2006.

  
  

• Inflation-adjusted gains: When adjusted for inflation, total teacher compensation rose by 10.5% from 2006 to 2024, despite a 7.1% decline in inflation-adjusted salaries over the same period.

  
  

• Fringe benefits surge: State "on behalf" payments for benefits, including pensions and health insurance, jumped from $15,025 per teacher in 2006 to $35,406 in 2024 – a 136% nominal increase, or 61% when adjusted for inflation.

  
  

• Funding disparity: While per-pupil funding increased by 40.5% (from $14,698 in 2006 to $20,656 in 2023) after inflation adjustment, teacher-compensation growth lagged behind.

  
  

Though teacher compensation has grown, the much-larger increase in school funding indicates that a great deal of funding is going elsewhere. Moreover, student academic performance hasn’t come close to keeping pace with increases in either funding or teachers’ compensation.

“Public education should be about preparing students for future success, not propping up an overfunded mediocre system,” said Bluegrass Institute president Jim Waters. "Large increases in school funding – including nearly $2 billion in fringe-benefit payments for teachers – have not translated into better student outcomes.”

According to the 2024 National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), far more than 50% of Kentucky students remain below proficiency in fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math.

The NAEP data also highlight persistent academic-achievement gaps; only 12% of Black eighth-grade students were reading proficiently in 2024, compared to 33% of White students. Similar gaps have persisted for years. In 1998, NAEP eighth-grade reading results indicated that only 32% of White Students and just 11% of Black students read proficiently.

“It’s past time to rethink how resources are utilized to truly advance educational equity and performance,” Waters said.

For more information, contact Jim Waters, president of the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions at (270) 320-4376 or jwaters@freedomkentucky.com.