Top teacher shortage and recruitment statistics

• Teacher attrition in the USA is twice as high as in countries with well-regarded education systems like Finland and Singapore
• It causes a distract $20,000 every time a teacher quits
• Teachers of mathematics, science, special education, English language development, and foreign languages are more likely to leave either their school or teaching
• Turnover rates are 50% higher for teachers in Title I schools – schools that serve a high percentage of low-income students
• Mathematics and science teacher turnover rates are nearly 70% greater in Title I schools than in non-Title I schools
• Attrition rates are also 70% higher for teachers in schools serving the largest concentrations of students of color
• Teachers in districts where max salary can exceed $72,000 are 31% less likely to move districts or quit teaching
• Just under 40% of teachers plan on leaving the profession in the next two years
• There was a 41% increase in the number of teachers who quit in June 2022 compared to the previous year

Teacher vacancy statistics

• There are an estimated 36,504 teacher vacancies in the USA
• More than 100,000 classrooms are staffed by someone who is not fully qualified to teach
• 90% of open teaching positions are created by teachers who leave the profession
• 44% of public schools began the school year with teaching vacancies
• 45% of schools have special education vacancies
• 31% have elementary school teaching vacancies
• 20% have substitute teacher positions that are unfilled
• The leading causes of teacher vacancies are:
  • Resignation (51%)
  • Retirement (21%)
• More than 50% of schools are filling vacancies by hiring teachers outside of their subject expertise or intended roles
• 49% of public schools have at least one non-teaching staff vacancy
• 28% of schools have vacancies for custodial staff
• Transportation staff and nutrition staff positions were each reported as vacant by 14% of schools

Teacher vacancies per 10,000 students by State

State	Vacancies by 10k students	Underqualified
Alabama	40.84	68.69
Alaska	–	4.08
Arizona	15.22	32.56
Arkansas	–	30.8
California	–	38.88
Colorado	2.66	10.11
Connecticut	4.47	9.57
Delaware	14.85	20.57
Florida	14.02	59.45
Georgia	17.59	29.5
Hawaii	20.63	40.69
Idaho	15.6	15.8
Illinois	8.76	1.73
Indiana	9.48	9.21
Iowa	–	1.17
Kansas	24.91	15.49
Kentucky	12.24	3.72
Louisiana	–	148.64
Maine	38.23	26.91
Maryland	11.33	41.45
Massachusetts	–	81.26
Michigan	3.52	5.92
Minnesota	1.13	50.44
Mississippi	68.59	34.36
Missouri	0.43	40.2
Montana	22.41	6.01
Nebraska	1.29	5.39
Nevada	16.99	22.17
New Hampshire	–	348.79
New Jersey	1.08	68.82
New Mexico	33.08	22.91
New York	–	19.55
North Carolina	11.22	97.92
North Dakota	12.74	4.39
Ohio	–	3.18
Oklahoma	7.07	17.7
Oregon	–	6.56
Pennsylvania	1.99	6.28
Rhode Island	6.68	12.93
South Carolina	12.23	8.24
South Dakota	8.61	5.1
Tennessee	12.18	15.05
Texas	1.06	16.19
Utah	0.54	58.27
Vermont	–	11.89
Virginia	11.35	30.03
Washington	–	51.68
West Virginia	39.46	18.07
Wisconsin	30.9	16.22
Wyoming	–	19.45

Teacher experience level: 2000 vs 2018

• There are fewer teachers now with more than 20 years of teaching experience now than there were in 2000
• There are also fewer teachers with less than 3 years of experience now as a percentage of all teachers
• There are significantly more teachers with 10 to 20 years of experience than there were in 2000 with 40% of teachers having between 10 and 20 years of experience as a teacher 

Years of experience	Year 2000	Year 2018
< 3 years	11%	9%
3 to 9 years	28%	28%
10 to 20 years	29%	40%
Over 20 years	32%	23%