Education

NEA report says Oklahoma per-student revenue tops $15,000

May 21, 2026

Ray Carter

A new report from an arm of the National Education Association (NEA), a national teachers’ union, shows that Oklahoma public schools have per-pupil revenue that now exceeds $15,000 per student.

The NEA Research report, “Rankings of the States 2025 and Estimates of School Statistics 2026,” was released in April and is the latest edition of an annual report put out by the organization.

The NEA found that Oklahoma public schools had $15,111 in revenue receipts per student, based on average daily attendance, during the 2024-2025 school year, the most recent for which national data were available for all states. The average is likely higher today because of continued increases in funding at the state and local levels in Oklahoma.

Per-pupil revenue in Oklahoma schools has increased 55 percent since the 2017-2018 school year, when a prior edition of the NEA report found Oklahoma public schools had revenue receipts per student of $9,724 at that time, based on average daily attendance.

This year’s NEA Research report estimated that the average salary of an Oklahoma public-school teacher during the now mostly concluded 2025-2026 school year was $62,055.

In the 2017-2018 school year, a prior NEA Research report found the average salary of public-school teachers in Oklahoma was $46,300, meaning Oklahoma teacher pay has increased by 34 percent since that time.

Oklahoma is one of only 11 states to have increased average teacher pay since 2017 after adjusting for inflation, according to NEA Research’s estimates.

[Photo credit: National Education Association]